hostility

English

Etymology

From Middle English hostilitie, hostilite, from Old French hostilité, from Latin hostīlitās.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /hɒˈstɪlɪti/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /hɑˈstɪlɪti/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɪlɪti

Noun

hostility (countable and uncountable, plural hostilities)

1. (uncountable) The state of being hostile.

   My resentment and anger towards you caused hostility and a division between us.

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes , book II, London: Val Simmes for Edward Blount , →OCLC:

     There is no hostilitie so excellent, as that which is absolutely Christian.

   • 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0-2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:

     But with Goodison Park openly directing its full hostility towards Atkinson, Liverpool went ahead when Carroll turned in his first Premier League goal of the season after 70 minutes.

   • 2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 September 2013:

     The polarization of wealth and the polarization of attitudes to diversity are not unrelated. A key reason for popular hostility to immigrants is that to many people, particularly within working-class communities, immigration has become a symbol of unacceptable change.

2. (countable) A hostile action, especially a military action. See hostilities for specific plural definition.

Synonyms

• (state of being hostile): antagonism, opposition, enmity, animosity, antipathy, hatred, unfriendliness
• (military action): war, fighting, combat

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “state of being hostile”): amity, friendliness
• (antonym(s) of “military action”): peace

Derived terms

• horizontal hostility

Related terms

• hostile

Translations