Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Physiology A contracting muscle that is resisted or counteracted by another muscle, the antagonist.
  • noun A drug or other chemical that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiologic reaction typical of a naturally occurring substance.
  • noun One involved in a struggle or competition.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who contends for the prize in public games; a combatant; a champion; a dramatic actor. Also called agonister.
  • noun [capitalized] One of a violent party of Donatists in northern Africa in the fourth century.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare One who contends for the prize in public games.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Someone involved in a contest or battle (as in an agon).
  • noun The muscle that contracts while the other relaxes.
  • noun biochemistry A molecule that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a muscle that contracts while another relaxes
  • noun someone involved in a contest or battle (as in an agon)
  • noun the principal character in a work of fiction
  • noun (biochemistry) a drug that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin agōnista, contender, from Greek agōnistēs, from agōn, contest; see agony.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἀγωνιστής (agōnistēs, "combatant, champion")

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word agonist.

Examples

  • In Western anatomy, these are called agonist and antagonist muscle groups, but I call them balancing muscle groups.

    The Genius of Flexibility Bob Cooley 2005

  • In Western anatomy, these are called agonist and antagonist muscle groups, but I call them balancing muscle groups.

    The Genius of Flexibility Bob Cooley 2005

  • For example, I derived theoretical equations to illustrate how removal of the agonist from the region of the receptor by active uptake or enzymatic destruction could markedly alter the slope of

    Robert F. Furchgott - Autobiography 1999

  • I paid homage in my review to A.J. Clark for his pioneering work in developing receptor theory, I took issue with his hypothesis that response of a tissue to an agonist is proportional to the fraction of receptors occupied by the agonist.

    Robert F. Furchgott - Autobiography 1999

  • With that information, he hopes to create a peptide "agonist" - something that would enhance the activity of the CAP2B peptide and prevent the insect from leaving waste (and the parasite) on the wound.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories PhysOrg Team 2010

  • An agonist is a substance that binds to a receptor.

    Alcohol and The Addictive Brain Kenneth Blum 1991

  • An agonist is a substance that binds to a receptor.

    Alcohol and The Addictive Brain Kenneth Blum 1991

  • Vilazodone is an anti-depressant that has two different mechanisms - it is both a selective-serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) along the lines of other common depression treatments such as Prozac and Zoloft, while it also includes a so-called 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, which is the mechanism in several other anti-depressant treatments on the market including buspirone.

    Philadelphia Business News - Local Philadelphia News | The Philadelphia Business Journal 2010

  • Vilazodone is an anti-depressant that has two different mechanisms - it is both a selective-serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) along the lines of other common depression treatments such as Prozac and Zoloft, while it also includes a so-called 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, which is the mechanism in several other anti-depressant treatments on the market including buspirone.

    National Business News - Local Business News | bizjournals 2010

  • Vilazodone is an anti-depressant that has two different mechanisms - it is both a selective-serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) along the lines of other common depression treatments such as Prozac and Zoloft, while it also includes a so-called 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, which is the mechanism in several other anti-depressant treatments on the market including buspirone.

    Philadelphia Business News - Local Philadelphia News | The Philadelphia Business Journal 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.