- the principal character in a play, story, etc
- a supporter, esp when important or respected, of a cause, political party, etc
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pro•tag•o•nist /proʊˈtægənɪst/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Literaturethe leading character of a drama or other piece of writing.
pro•tag•o•nist
(prō tag′ə nist),USA pronunciation n.
pro•tag′o•nism, n.
- Literaturethe leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.
- Classicsa proponent for or advocate of a political cause, social program, etc.
- the leader or principal person in a movement, cause, etc.
- Classics, Literaturethe first actor in ancient Greek drama, who played not only the main role, but also other roles when the main character was offstage. Cf. deuteragonist, tritagonist.
- [Physiol.]agonist.
- Greek prōtagōnisté̄s actor who plays the first part, literally, first combatant, equivalent. to prôt(os) first + agōnisté̄s one who contends for a prize, combatant, actor. See proto-, antagonist
- 1665–75
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
protagonist /prəʊˈtæɡənɪst/ n
'protagonist' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
tragedy
- Aeneas
- agon
- agonist
- antagonist
- antihero
- antiheroic
- antiheroine
- Bildungsroman
- deuteragonist
- Jekyll and Hyde
- lift
- Odysseus
- Quasimodo
- tragic flaw
- tritagonist
- unfold