antagonistic muscle

6.3

A muscle that works against another to control movement at a joint

noun
/ˌæntæɡəˈnɪstɪk ˈmʌsəl/

Specialized

: músculo antagonista

When the biceps contracts, the triceps, as an antagonistic muscle, relaxes to allow smooth movement.

Examples

The biceps and triceps are antagonistic muscles.
Physical therapy often targets both the primary mover and its antagonistic muscle for balanced rehabilitation.
Flexing your arm involves the cooperation of the agonist and the antagonistic muscle.
An antagonistic muscle opposes the action of another muscle.
Flexing your arm involves the cooperation of the agonist and the antagonistic muscle.
When the biceps contracts, the triceps, as an antagonistic muscle, relaxes to allow smooth movement.
Physical therapy often targets both the primary mover and its antagonistic muscle for balanced rehabilitation.

Synonyms

antagonist

vsantagonistic muscle

Specialized

7.7

A muscle that relaxes while another muscle tightens to move a body part

focuses on controlling and moderating movement at a joint rather than contraction timing

Antonyms

agonist

Specialized

8.1

A muscle that tightens to make a movement while the opposite muscle relaxes

Surface Forms

antagonistic muscle singular

antagonistic muscles plural

Morphology

antagonistic + muscle

The meaning 'a muscle that acts in opposition to another' is directly and compositionally derived from 'antagonistic' (counteracting) + 'muscle' (body tissue producing movement). This is a regular adjective+noun anatomical description found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun antagonistic muscle comes from the image of one muscle 'working against' another, like two people in a tug-of-war. When one muscle pulls, the antagonistic muscle relaxes or pulls the other way to control the movement, so the phrase means a muscle that works opposite another.