Word: antagonize (verb)

Associations

"Antagonize" means to make someone angry or upset, or to cause someone to become an enemy. It often involves actions or words that create conflict or dislike.

• If you tease a friend too much, you might antagonize them. This means you could make them upset or angry.
• A company might antagonize customers by providing bad service, causing them to feel unhappy or annoyed.
• In stories, a character might antagonize the hero, meaning they act as an enemy or cause trouble. Synonym: "provoke." The difference is that "provoke" can mean to cause any strong reaction, not only anger, but also interest or thought. "Antagonize" specifically means causing anger or hostility.

Substitution

Instead of "antagonize," you can use:

• "anger" (to make someone angry)
• "irritate" (to annoy someone)
• "offend" (to hurt someone's feelings)
• "provoke" (to cause a strong reaction, often anger) Each word changes the meaning slightly. For example, "irritate" is usually less strong than "antagonize," and "offend" often relates to feelings about respect or values.

Deconstruction

"Antagonize" comes from the root "antagon-" which means opponent or enemy.

• Prefix "ant-" means against.
• Root "agon" means struggle or contest (from Greek "agon" meaning contest or fight).
• Suffix "-ize" means to cause or make. So, "antagonize" literally means to cause someone to be an opponent or to struggle against you.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a situation where you might unintentionally antagonize someone? What happened?
• How is "antagonize" different from simply disagreeing with someone?
• Have you ever read a book or seen a movie where a character antagonizes another? What did they do?