hostility
[ho-stil-i-tee]
- a hostile state, condition, or attitude; enmity; antagonism; unfriendliness.
- a hostile act.
- opposition or resistance to an idea, plan, project, etc.
- hostilities,
- acts of warfare.
- war1.
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Origin of hostility
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
warenmitybitternessresentmentoppositionantipathyhatredrancorestrangementanimosityaggressiongrudgeabhorrencespitespleenmalevolencebelligerencebellicositymalicevenomExamples from the Web for hostility
Contemporary Examples
Hostility to the non-urban regions includes a detestation of suburbia.
Amanda came home to largely welcoming American arms, her case held up as an example of hostility to Americans abroad.
For instance, when a couple is having trouble, the tension and hostility can bleed into BDSM scenes.
Even the way the term “aliens” is used to describe migrants spotted in the desert has an air of hostility.
Undeterred, Wanda and Ida press on along a road of hostility and dissimulation that will lead to the harrowing end of their quest.
Historical Examples
There she always finishes her hostility by making some solid acquisition.
The hostility to this seemingly harmless teaching was of the most intense.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
There is hostility to it still, but mild as compared with that felt by our great-great-grandfathers.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
Instantly, Martin's cordiality vanished; his hostility toward her surged.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
All the animals in the creation are more or less in a state of hostility with each other.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
hostility
- enmity or antagonism
- an act expressing enmity or opposition
- (plural) fighting; warfare
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hostility
n.
early 15c., from Middle French hostilité "enmity" (15c.), or directly from Late Latin hostilitatem (nominative hostilitas) "enmity," from Latin hostilis, from hostis "enemy" (see guest). Hostilities in the sense of "warfare" attested from 1610s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper