agonistic
- adjective
- /ˌæɡəˈnɪstɪk/
- Literature
:
agonístico
- The ancient Greeks celebrated their athletic skills during agonistic events like the Olympics.
Examples
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The high concentration of agonistic iconography in Roman baths signifies the sporting ambiance that dominated these buildings.
Academic text (2011) -
While it may be a sign of the "second-century Christian accommodation to the attitudes and traditions of the Roman Empire," the agonistic and athletic imagery used to describe martyrdom in the acta martyrum also suggests that some Christians thought of themselves as preparing for the event of martyrdom.
Academic text (2006) -
But smaller bathing establishments borrowed the agonistic imagery, even if they might not have offered exercise space within their walls.
Academic text (2011) -
Many sculptures in the museum depict agonistic scenes from ancient Greek sports competitions.
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The agonistic spirit of the games fostered a strong sense of rivalry among the athletes.
Synonyms
Wanting strongly to argue and win in a discussion
Surface Forms
Morphology
agonistic = agonist (opaque) = agon + ist + ic
Formed from the Greek combining form 'agon' via the noun 'agonist' + -ic; the root and base are rare and not productive in modern English, so learners cannot reliably infer the historical 'ancient Greek contest' sense.
Etymology
The word agonistic comes from the Greek root agon, which means 'contest' or 'struggle'. In ancient Greece an agon was a public athletic contest, so agonistic describes things connected to those games.
