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

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.

Derived Forms

• proˈtagonism, noun

Other Words From

• pro·tago·nism noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of protagonist¹

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

Example Sentences

“I’m quite cruel to my protagonists. I drag them through the mud, I torture them, they suffer a lot of trauma, but then I reward them at the end.”

From Los Angeles Times

The collision that brings the teenage protagonists of “Fireworks” together is as cute as meet-cutes get.

From New York Times

But I found myself worrying less about the existence of God or the fate of the young protagonist and more about those caged women.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s not only the show’s tragically doomed protagonist but also its storyteller, and he anchors the production with a handsome ordinariness.

From Los Angeles Times

Series producer Aonuma acknowledges "a lot of the focus of the topic of conversation was going to be on Zelda being the main protagonist".

From BBC

Related Words

• central character
• central figure
• hero
• heroine
• lead character
• leading character
• leading figure
• main character
• main figure
• principal
• principal character
• principal figure