agon- (Greek: struggle, a contest, to contend for a prize; also, to lead, set in motion, drive, conduct, guide, govern; to do, act)
antagony
antagonym
A word that has meanings which contradict each other; such as using, "bad" for "good".
autagonistophilia
A sexual perversion in which sexual arousal and orgasm are contingent upon displaying one’s self in a live show, i.e. being observed performing on stage or on camera.
The observer’s condition (if the stage or camera performance by the partner is a necessity for sexual arousal) is termed scoptophilia, [scopophilia], not voyeurism.
—Psychiatric Dictionary, 7th ed., by Robert J. Campbell]
deuteragonist
The second actor or person in a drama as distinguished from the protagonist or leading character.
preagonal
1. Immediately preceding death agony.
2. Occurring or existing immediately before the agony of death.
Death agony is an old term for the period just before death occurs, which was thought to be a time of extreme pain. protagonist
1. The most important, or primary, character (good or evil) in a novel, play, story, or other literary work: "The protagonist had to defend himself against the opposition of the antagonist."
2. A leading personage in any contest; a prominent supporter or champion of any cause.
3. The protagonist of a Greek drama was its leading actor, of whom there could be but one in any play.
4. Etymology: proto-, "first in time, earliest" + agonistes,, "actor, combatant".
There is a precedent from the 17th century onward for using protagonist to mean simply the "important actor" or "principal party", with no implication of uniqueness.
A protagonist is, properly, the leading character in a novel or play. Possibly under the influence of the better known antagonist it has come to acquire the popular meaning of someone who champions or supports a cause.
The protagonist is really the main character in a novel, movie, or play and NOT necessarily a "good person". In fact the protagonist can be an evil dictator, or criminal, while the antagonist could very well be the "good character" who is opposing the terrible activities of the protagonist.
In ancient Greek drama, the protagonist was said to be the main character; however, in a modern works with more than one main character, there might be more than one protagonist.
The word protagonist means "first actor", and it originally referred to the single most important character in a Greek drama. Some people object to recognizing more than one protagonist in a single play, novel, etc., but authorities on English usage now seem to agree that this extended sense is acceptable; in other words, you may safely write: "He is one of the protagonists in this affair", meaning "He is one of the principal actors".
An antagonist is really someone opposed to another person, an "opponent". pseudoantagonist
tritagonist
In ancient Greek drama, the third actor, whose part is usually that of the evil genius or as a promoter of the sufferings of the protagonist.
unantagonistic
Not opposed, not antagonistic.
unantagonized
Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "master, lead, leading, ruler, ruling, govern":
-agogic;
arch-;
-crat;
dom-;
gov-;
magist-;
poten-;
regi-;
tyran-.
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