agonist
noun
Simple meaning
A muscle that contracts while another relaxes.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
aguhnistSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈæɡənɪst
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A muscle that contracts while another relaxes
“When bending the elbow the biceps are the agonist.”
biochemistrypharmacology
A drug that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction
Someone involved in a contest or battle (as in an agon), protagonist.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A muscle that contracts while another relaxes
In this sense, agonist is a very strong, expressive word and signals serious, lasting hurt rather than disappointment.
“When bending the elbow the biceps are the agonist.”
- Emotional tone
- Strongly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Very strong
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Strongly negative / painful
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Agonist is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use agonist
- “When bending the elbow the biceps are the agonist.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A treatment for glaucoma.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.