hostile
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of an enemy.
a hostile nation.
- Synonyms:
- aggressive, warlike
- Antonyms:
- friendly
-
opposed in feeling, action, or character; antagonistic.
hostile criticism.
- Antonyms:
- friendly
-
characterized by antagonism.
- Antonyms:
- sympathetic
-
not friendly, warm, or generous; not hospitable.
noun
-
a person or thing that is antagonistic or unfriendly.
-
Military. an enemy soldier, plane, ship, etc.
adjective
-
antagonistic; opposed
-
of or relating to an enemy
-
unfriendly
noun
Related Words
Hostile, inimical indicate that which characterizes an enemy or something injurious to one's interests. Hostile applies to the spirit, attitude, or action of an enemy: They showed a hostile and menacing attitude. Inimical applies to an antagonistic or injurious tendency or influence: Their remarks were inimical to his reputation.
Other Word Forms
- hostilely adverb
- interhostile adjective
- nonhostile adjective
- nonhostilely adverb
- overhostile adjective
- overhostilely adverb
- prehostile adjective
- semihostile adjective
- semihostilely adverb
- unhostile adjective
- unhostilely adverb
Etymology
Origin of hostile
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin hostīlis, equivalent to hostis “enemy” ( host 2 ) + -īlis -ile
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Whatever one thought of Jefferson’s embargo, Congress recognized the problem with subjecting federal officers to hostile local juries.
There are two fundamental factors analysts like me consider when assessing enemy threats: offensive capability to inflict damage and hostile intentions to use these capabilities to harm enemies.
From Salon
The White House said the decision was taken because those entities "no longer serve American interests" and promote "ineffective or hostile agendas".
From BBC
As well as being ill-equipped for the challenges they faced on the field, the visitors seemed surprised by the hostile attention they received from the Australian media, particularly at the beginning of the tour.
From BBC
“It’s a playoff game and it’s an extremely tough team on the road in a hostile environment,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
