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View synonyms for protagonist

protagonist

[ proh-tag-uh-nist ]

noun

  1. the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.
  2. a proponent for or advocate of a political cause, social program, etc.
  3. the leader or principal person in a movement, cause, etc.
  4. the first actor in ancient Greek drama, who played not only the main role, but also other roles when the main character was offstage. Compare deuteragonist, tritagonist.
  5. Physiology. agonist.


protagonist

/ prəʊˈtæɡənɪst /

noun

  1. the principal character in a play, story, etc
  2. a supporter, esp when important or respected, of a cause, political party, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

protagonist

  1. The principal character in a literary work. Hamlet , for example, is the protagonist of the play by William Shakespeare that bears his name.
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Derived Forms

  • proˈtagonism, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • pro·tago·nism noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of protagonist1

First recorded in 1665–75; from Greek prōtagōnistḗs “actor who plays the first part,” literally, “first combatant,” equivalent to prôt(os) “first” + agōnistḗs “one who contends for a prize, combatant, actor”; proto-, antagonist
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Word History and Origins

Origin of protagonist1

C17: from Greek prōtagōnistēs, from prōtos first + agōnistēs actor
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Watching his victims struggle to stay alive is cinema to this twisted soul and Zephyr will be his next unwitting protagonist.

Walter is a slyly adept social critic, and has clearly invested his protagonist with all of the outrage and heartbreak he himself feels about the dark course our world has taken.

It starts from afar, has an animal with human characteristics as its protagonist - in this case a lion - with its vices and virtues.

From BBC

But we soon learn it's Savita, the film's protagonist, waking from an impossible dream - her real life, like that of many Indian women caught in the tradition of arranged marriage, is the exact opposite.

From BBC

When he sat down to write the script, he tried to fictionalise the backstories of the two protagonists until the point that they took the journey during Covid – which is the beginning of Peer's article.

From BBC

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