ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Agonistic

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /aɡəˈnɪstɪk/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Agonistic is an adjective meaning Of or relating to contests that were originally participated in by the Ancient Greeks; athletic.

Meaning

Of or relating to contests that were originally participated in by the Ancient Greeks; athletic.

More Meanings

  1. (zoology, anthropology) Characterised by conflict or hostility.
  2. (rhetoric) Argumentative; combative.
  3. Struggling to achieve an effect; strained and contrived.
  4. (pharmacology, biochemistry) Pertaining to an agonist.

Example Sentences

This was clearly such an event, but like the ancient religion of Israel, it was also deeply agonistic.
Sociality swung wildly between extremes of collective affiliation and agonistic striving for dominance.
Joys of the solitary walk, the spirit bow’d yet proud, the suffering and the struggle? The agonistic throes, the ecstasies, joys of the solemn musings day or night?
Although most agonistic interactions consist of signals of threat and submission, symbolic aggression is effective only because the possibility of escalation exists […]

Synonyms for agonistic

Depending on context, synonyms include strained, combative, affected, competitive, competitory, agonistical.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include agonistical, combative, competitory, competitive, strained, affected.

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Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

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