Hostile

Practice This Word

Unfriendly, antagonistic, or showing opposition or ill will; not welcoming or cooperative.

adjective

Hostile

Unfriendly, antagonistic, or showing opposition or ill will; not welcoming or cooperative.

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine walking into a meeting where every person eye-balls you, arms crossed, and replies are short and sharp. The air feels tense and you sense open opposition in every comment.

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Sounds Like

HOST-ile (sounds like 'host' + 'aisle' in a way that helps remember the hostile, unfriendly connotation).

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Looks Like

Looks like the word 'host' plus the ending '-ile', suggesting a stance toward others (a host with a hostile attitude).

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Remember This

Hostile comes from Latin hostilis meaning 'of an enemy', related to hostis meaning 'enemy'; it contrasts with hospitable, which relates to guests and welcoming behavior.

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Other Forms

hostilitynoun

hostilelyadverb

hostilesnoun (plural)

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Connect With

antagonistic, adversarial, enmity, belligerence, unfriendly, inhospitable

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Note

Use hostile to describe attitudes, environments, or actions that are openly unfriendly or oppositional. Not all disagreements are hostile; hostility implies aggression or persistent opposition.

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Study Deeper

Examples

The security guard gave the crowd a hostile glare as they approached the restricted area.
Negotiations broke down in a hostile climate between the two nations.

Synonyms

antagonisticunfriendlybelligerentinimicaladverse

Antonyms

friendlyhospitableamiable

Etymology

From Latin hostilis 'of an enemy', derived from hostis 'enemy'. The term contrasts with hospitālis 'of a guest' (related to hospitable).

Mnemonic

HOST-ILL: The host is ill toward you; think of hostilities as the host’s ill will toward others.