the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.

a proponent for or advocate of a political cause, social program, etc.

the leader or principal person in a movement, cause, etc.

the first actor in ancient Greek drama, who played not only the main role, but also other roles when the main character was offstage. Compare deuteragonist , tritagonist .

Physiology . agonist.

noun

antagonist

noun

advocate , central character , champion , combatant , exemplar , exponent , hero , idol , lead , lead character , leader , mainstay , prime mover , principal , standard-bearer , [[warriornotes:protagonist is greek for \'first (important) actor\' or \'first struggler\' and by extension is used for a person who drives the action in a situation or is the main character in a literary work; the protagonist is the hero or heroine and an antagonist is his/her principal opponent]] , star , actor , defender , heroine , proponent , spokesman , spokeswoman , warrior