overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

protagonist.

The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/pɹəˈtæɡ.ə.nɪst/UK/pɹəʊˈtæɡ.ə.nɪst/UK/pɹoʊˈtæɡ.ə.nɪst/Canada, US/pɹəˈtæɡ.ə.nɪst/Canada, US
  1. The main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama.

  2. A leading person in a contest; a principal performer.

  3. An advocate or champion of a cause or course of action.

    proscribed
Where this word comes from

From Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs, “a chief actor”), from πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”). By surface analysis, prot- (“first”) + agonist (“combatant, participant”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

protagonist has 11 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

protagonist studioprotagonist workshello, protagonist

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.