protagonist

American  

[proh-tag-uh-nist] / proʊˈtæg ə nɪst /

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.

5. Physiology. agonist.

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protagonist British  

/ 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

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protagonist Cultural  

1. The principal character in a literary work. Hamlet, for example, is the protagonist of the play by William Shakespeare that bears his name.

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Other Word Forms

• protagonism noun

Etymology

Origin of protagonist

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

Explanation

A protagonist is the central character in a story: the protagonist of Huckleberry Finn is — guess who? — Huckleberry Finn. A novel, movie, or play might have many main characters, but it can really only have one protagonist — or maybe two in the case of, say, Romeo and Juliet. That's because protos means "first" in Greek, and agonistes means "competitor" or "actor." It can also mean a leading figure in a real-life situation: "Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were the protagonists of the U.S. Civil War." Don't use it to mean "a supporter of an idea or cause"; the word you're looking for in that situation is proponent.

Example Sentences

The book’s protagonist is Frank Friedmaier, a 19-year-old resident of an unidentified country ruled by foreign occupiers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Some of their questions were about possible futures for “The Untamed State” protagonist, Mireille.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

So it isn’t hard to see why writer-director Daniel Goldhaber and his co-writer, Isa Mazzei, have given the gig to the protagonist of their new horror film, “Faces of Death.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Ronaldinho was a regular protagonist, so too Jay-Jay Okocha, inspiring wide-eyed kids and optimistic adults to attempt the same magic manoeuvres in playgrounds and sparsely-grassed pitches up and down the land.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

It’s a beautiful dream, like the end of an American movie, where the protagonist and his girl drive off into the rest of the world.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

Related Words

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