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
-
hostiles
plural
-
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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
-
interhostileadjective
-
nonhostileadjective
-
overhostileadjective
-
prehostileadjective
-
semihostileadjective
-
unhostileadjective
-
hostilelyadverb
-
nonhostilelyadverb
-
overhostilelyadverb
-
semihostilelyadverb
-
unhostilelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hostile
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin hostīlis, equivalent to hostis “enemy” ( see host 2) + -īlis -ile
Explanation
If something is hostile, it's unfriendly. If you are zealous about the political causes you believe in, you will be hostile to any suggestion that the other side of the argument is reasonable. Hostile comes from the Latin word hostis, for enemy, and you can hear its relation to the word hostage. But you don't have to be from a warring nation to be hostile. You can talk about a hostile nation, a hostile takeover, a hostile remark, or a hostile attitude. Some synonyms are inimical, antagonistic, unfavorable, unfriendly.
Vocabulary lists containing hostile
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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Some Tricky Homonyms
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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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.
See Examples For:
The hostile Vegas spotlight, meanwhile, evokes memories of Benn senior's ferocious 1995 battle with Gerald McClellan.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The F-16 and F-35 are NATO’s main fighter aircraft deployed to intercept hostile drones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The new rules would also require tech companies to protect under 18s from harmful content that promotes or encourages eating disorders or hostile ideas about women and gender equality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The statement refers to "speculative reports" from "hostile external sources".
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Since Washington had spent eight years sending American soldiers to their death in battle against Great Britain, one might expect that he harbored even more hostile opinions toward his former adversary.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Meanwhile, around 3,000 Pakistanis have left Iran since hostiles began.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
Another 2020, another arrival from extraterrestrial hostiles, this time with the ability to hunt with surgical precision based on nothing but sound.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 6, 2020
The kitchen loves its star patty so much that the cooks sometimes act as if they’re protecting it from hostiles — or the condiments Jaffe mentioned.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2018
While space traveling on branching paths, the player lands on nodes that become arenas with attacking hostiles in fun, turn-based fights in a retro, 8-bit presentation.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 7, 2017
And even though there weren’t supposed to be any hostiles in the manor, she found her gun hand automatically straying to the Neutrino 2000.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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.
