Hostile

/ˈhɒstaɪl/ · adjective

Meaning

Not friendly; appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence or a desire to thwart and injure..

Definitions by Sense

1. Not friendly; appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence or a desire to thwart and injure.
2. Aggressive; antagonistic.
3. Unwilling.
4. (not comparable) Being or relating to a hostile takeover.
5. (chiefly in the plural) An enemy.

Example Sentences

a hostile force

hostile intentions

a hostile country

hostile to a sudden change

Microsoft may go hostile in its bid for Yahoo! as soon as Friday, according to a published report.

The Japanese got their attack in first. About ten minutes after passing the U.S. aircraft, they spotted Hornet (local weather patterns temporarily concealing Enterprise). Things had improved a little bit compared to the Eastern Solomons, and three dozen F4F Wildcats on combat air patrol were vectored onto the oncoming hostiles, but once that initial task was accomplished, things began to collapse back into the cacophony and chaos that was all too familiar to those aboard the Enterprise, meaning that the end result was round about the same[…]

Synonyms for hostile

Antonyms for hostile

Related Words

Word Forms

• more hostile
• most hostile
• hostiles

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions