What does antagonistic mean?
Word: Antagonistic
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Antagonistic means showing strong dislike of someone or something and a wish to oppose them.
Synonyms: hostile
How do you spell antagonistic?
Syllables: an - tag - o - nis - tic
Tricky part: The vowel before the n is an o; because it is hardly heard, pupils often write antaganistic.
Watch out for: antaganistic, antagnistic
Memory tip: Spot the little word ago in the middle: it stops you writing an a where the o belongs.
Antagonistic in a sentence
Example 1: The two neighbours stayed antagonistic for years over a shared fence.
Example 2: Her antagonistic tone made the whole discussion uncomfortable.
Example 3: Rival fans can be antagonistic before a match and cheerful again after it.
Fun Fact
Your biceps and triceps are known as an antagonistic pair, because one relaxes while the other pulls your arm the opposite way.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
After the two debating teams had finished shaking hands, nobody could remember why they had been so antagonestic towards each other at the start of the inter-school competition.
a) debating
b) antagonestic
c) competition
d) remember
Show answer
b) antagonestic. The ending is -istic, so the vowel after the n has to be an i.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word antagonistic as used in the sentence:
Noah's antagonistic reply surprised everyone at the club meeting.
a) friendly
b) bitter
c) resentful
d) quarrelsome
Show answer
a) friendly. A friendly reply is the reverse; resentful, quarrelsome and bitter all sit close to the word in the sentence.
Mingle-Mangle
The jumbled letters in the sentence hide a word. Choose it.
Why was the new neighbour so naatiscgiotn towards the local football club?
a) antisocial
b) anticipated
c) antiquated
d) antagonistic
Show answer
d) antagonistic. The g in the jumble is missing from antisocial, antiquated and anticipated.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. sympathatic 2. optomistic 3. antagonistic 4. diplomatik
a) feeling sorry for others and wanting to help
b) feeling hopeful about the future
c) careful and tactful when dealing with people
d) openly against another person or group
Show answer
d) openly against another person or group. Optimistic has an i after the p, sympathetic has an e after the ath and diplomatic ends in a c, which leaves antagonistic as the correct word.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which behaviour would you call antagonistic during a group project?
a) asking politely for more time to finish your part
b) staying quiet while you read through the notes
c) suggesting a different idea with a clear reason
d) refusing every idea just because it came from one person
Show answer
d) refusing every idea just because it came from one person
2. A coach wants two antagonistic players to work as a pair. What should she try to reduce?
a) the length of each match
b) the ill feeling between them
c) the size of their team kit
d) the hours of daily practice
Show answer
b) the ill feeling between them
