unfriendly
Americanadjective
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not amicable; not friendly or kindly in disposition; unsympathetic; aloof.
an unfriendly coldness of manner.
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hostile; antagonistic.
an unfriendly act of aggression.
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unfavorable; inhospitable or inimical, as an environment.
an unfriendly climate for new ideas.
adverb
adjective
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not friendly; hostile
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unfavourable or disagreeable
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unfriendly
before 900; Middle English (adj.); Old English unfreondlīche (adv.). See un- 1, friendly
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.
The ruling also suspends a Pentagon designation of Anthropic, creator of the Claude AI model, as a national security supply chain risk -- a label typically reserved for organizations from unfriendly foreign countries.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
Historically, there’s always been this friendly or maybe unfriendly competition between people.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
Looking ahead: “The labor market is holding on, though it remains fairly unfriendly to job seekers,” said Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at NerdWallet.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 9, 2025
That gives her influence over whom Mamdani picks at City Hall to carry out his affordability agenda and is unlikely to assuage concerns that his administration will carry out an agenda unfriendly to business.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
Poor James, on the other hand, was still very much alive, and all at once he found himself alone and frightened in a vast unfriendly world.
From "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl
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.
