Hostile Meaning
/ˈhɒstaɪl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot friendly; appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence or a desire to thwart and injure.
adjAggressive; antagonistic.
Sentence Examples
Everybody took a hostile attitude toward illegal aliens.
The Soviet Union took a hostile attitude toward us.
The speaker got a hostile reception from the audience.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
When the man approached, the dog became ____ and bared its teeth.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two companies have been in a ____ relationship ever since the failed merger attempt.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French hostile, from Latin hostīlis, from hostis (“enemy”). Displaced Old English fēondlīċ.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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[…]"
— 2021 February 3, Drachinifel, 10:55 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Santa Cruz (IJN 2 : 2 USN), archived from the original on 04 Dec 2022:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
When the man approached, the dog became ____ and bared its teeth.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The two companies have been in a ____ relationship ever since the failed merger attempt.