How to Say "Antagonist" in Russian

антагонист

antagonist

The English word "antagonist" is translated into Russian as антагонист.

The term антагонист refers to a main character or a force that opposes the protagonist in a narrative.

Meaning: main character or force opposing the protagonist (noun)

Which one should you use?

The word Противник can be used in certain contexts to refer to an antagonist.

antagonist

The term антагонист is used in Russian medicine to describe a muscle that opposes another, such as the triceps acting as the антагонист to the biceps.
In a way that feels much more visceral than the Greek-rooted антагонист, the Russian word противник builds on the root против, which literally means 'opposite' or 'against'. It evokes the image of someone standing directly in your way.
The word антагонист is a direct loan from Greek, making it a 'cognate' that sounds almost identical to its English cousin, which is common for high-level intellectual vocabulary in Russian.

Антагонист – карикатура на всё, что автор ненавидит, и в то же время на несколько порядков симпатичнее всех остальных персонажей.
The antagonist is simultaneously a strawman for everything the author hates and the most likeable character by several orders of magnitude.
This sentence is useful for illustrating how an антагонист can be a caricature of what an author hates while remaining more likable than other characters.
Tatoeba #3113977 by Ooneykcall, translation #3113955 by Ooneykcall
Этот антагонист кажется очень убедительным.
Etot antagonist kazhetsya ochen' ubezhdyayushim.
This antagonist seems very convincing.
В этой книге антагонист лучший друг героя.
V etoy knige antagonist luchshiy drug geroya.
In this book, the antagonist is the hero's best friend.

Sergei and Olga are discussing a movie they just watched.

Сергей Sergey

Мне очень понравился злодей в этом фильме.
Mne ochen ponravilsya zlodey v etom filme.
I really liked the villain in this movie.
Ольга Olga

Да, антагонист получился очень глубоким персонажем.
Da, antagonist poluchilsya ochen glubokim personazhem.
Yes, the antagonist turned out to be a very deep character.
Сергей Sergey

Его мотивы были понятны и логичны.
Yego motivy byli ponyatny i logichny.
His motives were clear and logical.
Ольга Olga

Это делает историю гораздо сильнее.
Eto delaet istoriyu gorazdo silnee.
That makes the story much stronger.

Sources

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