Agonists are agents that stimulate or activate a biological receptor, often used to describe substances that mimic natural signaling molecules. In pharmacology, an agonist binds to a receptor to produce a functional response. The term can also refer to competing proponents in debates or conflicts, but in science it specifically denotes stimulatory agents.
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"The beta-adrenergic agonist increased heart rate and bronchodilation."
"Researchers tested a novel receptor agonist to map the signaling pathway."
"In pharmacology, agonists can be full or partial, yielding different maximal responses."
"The political agonists in the debate argued for rapid policy changes."
The term agonist comes from the Greek agonistes, from agonizein meaning to contend, strive, or struggle. The root agon- traces to agōn, a contest or struggle in ancient Greek culture, including athletic and rhetorical competitions. In medical language, the suffix -ist denotes an agent or doer, so agonist literally means one who contends or stimulates. The first known medical usage appeared in the 19th century as pharmacology developed, with early clinicians describing agents that “activate” receptors as agonists. Over time, the concept broadened to describe any molecule that binds to a receptor and elicits a response, contrasting with antagonists, which block activity. In modern texts, agonists are categorized by efficacy (full, partial, inverse) and receptor subtype specificity, reflecting advances in receptor pharmacology and drug development. The word has remained stable in spelling, though the contexts expanded from literary metaphor of struggle to precise scientific nomenclature. The influence of Greek and Latin roots persists in biomedical vocabulary, preserving the sense of active engagement or stimulation implied by agonistes.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "agonists" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "agonists"
-sts sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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You pronounce it as /ˈæɡənɪsts/. The primary stress is on the first syllable: AG-uh-nists. Break it into four sounds: /æ/ (short a, as in cat), /ɡ/ (hard g), /ən/ (schwa+n as in 'u-n'), and /ɪsts/ ending with a short i and s-t-s. You’ll want a clean syllabic /ən/ before the /ɪsts/ cluster, with the final /sts/ not merged. Practice slow, then speed up while keeping the vowel quality steady. See audio examples by pronouncing ‘agonist’ first, then pluralize.” ,
Common errors: misplacing stress (say /ˈæɡəˌnɪsts/), slurring the /ɡ/ into a softer /ɡ/ or into an /n/ sound, and mispronouncing the ending as /-ɪsts/ or /-ists/ with a long i. Correction: keep primary stress on the first syllable, release the /g/ fully before the schwa, and finish with a crisp /sts/ cluster. Practice with a slow tempo and gradually increase speed, ensuring the /ɡ/ doesn’t blend into /d/ or /z/ nearby.” ,
US/UK/AU all share /ˈæɡənɪsts/, but consonant clarity varies: US tends to a crisper /t s/ at the end, UK may have a slightly softer /t/ and less flapped /ɾ/ influence, and AU often aligns with UK vowel quality but with Australian vowel height that’s a touch more centralized. The initial /æ/ remains steady. Overall, rhotics are not pronounced in non-rhotic accents, but the final /s/ remains voiceless. Listen for the short /æ/ and the strong /ɡ/ release across all three.” ,
The difficulty lies in the consonant cluster at the end /-ɪsts/ and the need to sustain a short /æ/ in the stressed syllable while quickly transitioning to the /ɡ/ and then keeping the /ən/ unstressed. Balancing the syllable boundary between /æɡ/ and /ən/ without adding vowel length is tricky. The tri-consonant ending /sts/ requires precise timing; practice with deliberate slow reps, then speed up while preserving clarity of each phoneme.” ,
Does the word ever reduce the final /-sts/ in rapid speech? In careful speech you’ll enunciate /-ɪsts/, but in rapid or informal speech you might hear a subtle reduction as /-ɪts/ or /-sts/ without a full vowel, though the standard pronunciation remains /ˈæɡənɪsts/. Keep the /ɪ/ clearly audible in the middle syllable to avoid confusion with agnostic or agonist near-soundings.” ,
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