an.ˈtagəˌnizəm, aan- noun
( -s )
Etymology: French antagonisme, from Late Greek antagōnisma, from Greek antagōnizesthai to contend with — more at antagonize
1.
a. : actively expressed opposition, hostility, or antipathy
antagonism between factions
a yokel's antagonism to city people
b. : opposition or contrariety of a conflicting activity, cause, or principle
the antagonism of democracy to dictatorship
: contrariety of conflicting forces or tendencies
alleged antagonism between religion and science
2. : opposition in physiological action:
a. : contrariety in the effect of contraction of muscles (as the extensors and flexors of a part)
b. : interaction of two or more substances such that the action of any one of them on living cells or tissues is modified (as by interference with the uptake or by an opposing physiological reaction) — opposed to synergism
3. : the sum of the mutual interference between dissimilar organisms occupying or attempting to occupy the same ecological niche
Synonyms: see enmity