antagonize somebody
Meaning(s)
1. to make someone angry, make an opponent of someone
Popularity
High
Professional
Medium
Social
How to Memorize
to antagonise someone
Analysis
To antagonize someone means to anger, agitate or otherwise aggravate someone. You might antagonize someone to challenge them or to encourage them to lose their temper. Similar meaning expressions include ‘to rile up’ and ‘work up’. You can use this in social and professional contexts.
Social Examples (Advance)
- By borrowing the dress without permission, she knew it would antagonise her sister.
- To encourage the rivalry, he spat out taunting remarks to antagonise his opponent even further.
Professional Examples (Basic)
- Don't antagonise the Manager today. He'll let us go home early if he stays in a good mood!
Tom is not capable of dealing with customer complaints in a professional manner. All he does is antagonize them further with his poor attitude.