protagonist

noun

pro·​tag·​o·​nist prō-ˈta-gə-nist How to pronounce protagonist (audio)
1
a(1)
: the principal character in a literary work (such as a drama or story)
(2)
: the leading actor or principal character in a television show, movie, book, etc.
b
: an active participant in an event
2
: a leader, proponent, or supporter of a cause : champion

Did you know?

Struggle, or conflict, is central to drama. The protagonist or hero of a play, novel, or film is involved in a struggle of some kind, either against someone or something else or even against his or her own emotions. So the hero is the "first struggler", which is the literal meaning of the Greek word prōtagōnistēs. A character who opposes the hero is the antagonist, from a Greek verb that means literally "to struggle against".

Examples of protagonist in a Sentence

Badlands has two protagonists and Days of Heaven four (though both movies are rich in colorful minor roles). Richard Alleva, Commonweal, 12 Mar. 1999
The protagonists of Gordon's fiction are children who have been saddled with their parents' emotional bad debts. Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 1990
The most adamant opposition to my argument is likely to come from protagonists of secular reason … Glenn Finder, Atlantic, December 1989
She was a leading protagonist in the civil rights movement. Milton Friedman is usually cited as the leading American protagonist of monetarism.
Recent Examples on the Web The protagonist of Until August is a middle-aged woman named Ana Magdalena Bach, who visits her mother’s grave on a Caribbean island every year. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024 The protagonist of David Leitch’s entertaining new action-comedy The Fall Guy doesn’t have many complaints about life as a stuntman. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024 The devilish Goblin King gave protagonist Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) 13 hours to break free of his supernatural maze in order to save her infant half-brother, Toby. Marc Bernardin, EW.com, 11 Mar. 2024 One student would appreciate a more robust description of the protagonist’s emotions, but enjoys the sparseness, too. Maya Binyam, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 In 2017, Moonlight became the first film starring a gay protagonist to win Best Picture. Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024 The latest season of True Detective—a show that has generally featured male protagonists—stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, and has a Mexican woman director in Issa López. Ellie Austin, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2024 Crucially, the video game conceit suits the play — not only the fight-heavy storyline, with its sense of continually rebooting military and political clashes, but also Coriolanus’s relative deficit of interiority (especially compared with protagonists of other Shakespeare tragedies). Celia Wren, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Chung Suet-ying, a real-life Cantopop lyricist, steps into the shoes of the film’s protagonist. Partner Content, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'protagonist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Greek prōtagōnistēs, from prōt- prot- + agōnistēs competitor at games, actor, from agōnizesthai to compete, from agōn contest, competition at games — more at agony

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of protagonist was in 1671

Dictionary Entries Near protagonist

Cite this Entry

“Protagonist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/protagonist. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

protagonist

noun
pro·​tag·​o·​nist prō-ˈtag-ə-nəst How to pronounce protagonist (audio)
: the chief character in a play, novel, or story

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