Definition of "antagonize" []

• To incur the dislike of; provoke hostility or enmity in: antagonized her officemates with her rude behavior. (verb-transitive)
• To counteract. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "If he does not reply promptly he must pay a forfeit or he must pay a forfeit if he uses a word which would show disloyalty to his country such as antagonize it, abhor it, etc. etc."
• "First, Germany, Italy, and France do not support either NATO or EU enlargement, although it is only the former that is usually considered likely to "antagonize" Russia."
• "But the media and tech worlds want to know: Will the FCC propose other bold changes that might antagonize large companies, including broadband giants Comcast and Verizon, or will it try to accommodate them with relatively moderate reforms?"