antagonise
Stir up conflict
Antagonise is the British spelling of antagonize, meaning to provoke hostility or opposition in someone.
You antagonise people by irritating them or working against their interests: His dismissive tone antagonised the committee.
The word implies actively creating an adversary where one might not have existed: Why antagonise your neighbours over a fence?
Urge toward action
- goadIncite to action
- instigateCause to begin
- agitateDisturb or provoke
- inflameIntensify emotion or irritation
trigger · prod · rouse · taunt · bait · needle · poke · wind up
Cause mild irritation
- pesterAnnoy with persistence
- botherTo annoy or disturb
- nagPester repeatedly
- exasperateAnnoy to frustration
aggravate · harass · badger · irk · vex · gall · rankle · chafe
Bitter, lasting ill will
- animosityActive, bitter hostility
- antipathyIngrained, intense aversion
- belligerenceWarlike aggression
- hostilityAntagonistic disposition toward others
malice · resentment · spite · vitriol · ill will · bad blood · acrimony · bitterness
incite
Urge toward action
inflame · trigger · prod · rouse · taunt · bait · needle · poke · wind up · get at
annoy
Cause mild irritation
exasperate · aggravate · harass · badger · irk · vex · gall · rankle · chafe · displease
enmity
Bitter, lasting ill will
- animosityActive, bitter hostility
- antipathyIngrained, intense aversion
- belligerenceWarlike aggression
hostility · malice · resentment · spite · vitriol · ill will · bad blood · acrimony · bitterness · friction
resist
Oppose or refuse compliance
hinder · defy · contradict · cross · stand against · block · impede · undermine · sabotage · frustrate
- dopamine antagonistBlocks neurotransmitter binding sites
antagonist, antagonism, antagonize, antagonistic, antagonized, antagonizes, antagonizing, antagonised, antagonises