as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
clearly a writer with a chip on his shoulder, he's very agonistic even when stating indisputable facts
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Recent Examples of agonistic
Many owners in the city feel stuck—the dog is trigger stacked from the urban environment and more likely to have agonistic reactions towards other dogs as a result.
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Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Sep. 2025
The kitchen remains bloody and agonistic, demanding the preparation of yet another family meal.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 14 July 2023
The agonistic, Faulknerian circumstances fill the house with awful silences.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Dec. 2022
But the drive, the bile, the essential, agonistic spirit that powers the greatest rock music and serves as the source of its creativity will almost certainly be lacking.
—Damon Linker, The Week, 4 Sep. 2021
This agonistic version of the fact-value distinction leaves us with an impoverished ideal of social interaction.
—Peter E. Gordon, The New York Review of Books, 19 Nov. 2020
Serial agonistic attacks by greylag goose families, Anser anser, against the same opponent.
—Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 11 July 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agonistic
Adjective
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That’s the kind of chance that last season, a more aggressive-looking Stolarz would have used his frame — and frankly, his big-game presence — to turn away with ease.—
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The agency has also faced criticism for aggressive tactics used by ICE agents in executing the president’s immigration policy.—
Adjective
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Israel and the Lebanese militant group exchanged fire for over a year before reaching a ceasefire in November 2024.—
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Iran has been plagued for years by staggering hyperinflation, fueled by Western sanctions imposed over the hardline clerical government's nuclear program and backing for militant groups across the region.—
Adjective
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Skepticism came easily to Trump, who had long been hostile to mainstream foreign policy.—
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The helicopter the pilot was flying — a heavy, twin-rotor MH-47 Chinook — was struck by hostile fire during the operation.—
Adjective
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This sparked a contentious debate about whether our species originally emerged outside of Africa, before returning there.—
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His resignation comes after last month's trial in which inflammatory texts Phelps sent during contentious revenue-sharing negotiations were revealed.—
Cite this Entry
“Agonistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agonistic. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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