hostility

[ho-stil-i-tee]

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noun, plural hos·til·i·ties.

a hostile state, condition, or attitude; enmity; antagonism; unfriendliness.
a hostile act.
opposition or resistance to an idea, plan, project, etc.

hostilities,
1. acts of warfare.
2. war¹.

Origin of hostility

1375–1425; late Middle English hostilite < Latin hostīlitās. See hostile, -ity

Related formsnon·hos·til·i·ty, nouno·ver·hos·til·i·ty, nounpre·hos·til·i·ty, noun, plural pre·hos·til·i·ties.sem·i·hos·til·i·ty, noun

Synonyms for hostility

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1. animosity, animus, ill will, hatred. 4. fighting, conflict.

Antonyms for hostility

1. friendliness. 4. peace.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hostility

war, enmity, bitterness, resentment, opposition, antipathy, hatred, rancor, estrangement, animosity, aggression, grudge, abhorrence, spite, spleen, malevolence, belligerence, bellicosity, malice, venom

Examples from the Web for hostility

Contemporary Examples of hostility

Hostility to the non-urban regions includes a detestation of suburbia.
Time to Bring Back the Truman Democrats
Joel Kotkin
December 21, 2014
Amanda came home to largely welcoming American arms, her case held up as an example of hostility to Americans abroad.
Amanda Knox: A Mother’s Obsession
Nina Darnton
November 26, 2014
For instance, when a couple is having trouble, the tension and hostility can bleed into BDSM scenes.
Coming Out Kinky to Your Doctor, in Black and Blue
Heather Boerner
October 25, 2014
Even the way the term “aliens” is used to describe migrants spotted in the desert has an air of hostility.
A Shooting on a Tribal Land Uncovers Feds Running Wild
Caitlin Dickson
August 26, 2014
Undeterred, Wanda and Ida press on along a road of hostility and dissimulation that will lead to the harrowing end of their quest.
Holocaust Horrors Haunt the Films ‘Ida’ And ‘The German Doctor’
Jack Schwartz
May 12, 2014

Historical Examples of hostility

There she always finishes her hostility by making some solid acquisition.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
The hostility to this seemingly harmless teaching was of the most intense.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
There is hostility to it still, but mild as compared with that felt by our great-great-grandfathers.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
Instantly, Martin's cordiality vanished; his hostility toward her surged.
Dust
Mr. 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

British Dictionary definitions for hostility

hostility

noun plural -ties

enmity or antagonism
an act expressing enmity or opposition
(plural) fighting; warfare

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

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.