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Synonyms

unfriendly

American  
[uhn-frend-lee] / ʌnˈfrɛnd li /

adjective

unfriendlier, unfriendliest
  1. not amicable; not friendly or kindly in disposition; unsympathetic; aloof.

    an unfriendly coldness of manner.

  2. hostile; antagonistic.

    an unfriendly act of aggression.

  3. unfavorable; inhospitable or inimical, as an environment.

    an unfriendly climate for new ideas.


adverb

  1. in an unfriendly manner.

unfriendly British  
/ ʌnˈfrɛndlɪ /

adjective

  1. not friendly; hostile

  2. unfavourable or disagreeable

"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

adverb

  1. rare in an unfriendly manner

"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

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.

By February of last year, I was taxing leaders of the Air Force’s Barksdale B-52 base about the real problem, which government leaks even now admitted—conventional drones likely operated by unfriendly powers within U.S. airspace.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

One thing I can’t play is family unfriendly tunes.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026

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

People wasn’t unfriendly, but I got the feeling they wasn’t used to strangers.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

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