hostility
Americannoun
plural
hostilitiesnoun
-
enmity or antagonism
-
an act expressing enmity or opposition
-
(plural) fighting; warfare
Other Word Forms
- nonhostility noun
- overhostility noun
- prehostility noun
- semihostility noun
Etymology
Origin of hostility
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English hostilite, from Latin hostīlitās, from hostīl(is) ( hostile ) + -itās -ity
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.
His hostility toward Big Tech marks a notable departure from his corporate-friendly jurisprudence in other cases.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
In the 1980s and 1990s, the gripe was “stick to reading, writing and ‘rithmetic,” which implies hostility toward expanding those lessons to more complex ideas like literary analysis, critical thinking, and higher math and sciences.
From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026
The agency’s mindset remains: evidentiary maximalism detached from clinical reality, indifference to patient urgency, and hostility to the flexibility Congress intended.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
Harder still is absorbing the hostility he and his staff are facing from customers.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
The Master’s manservant, Cousins, was still in place, however, and Lyra had been ready to meet his hostility with defiance, for they had been enemies as long as she could remember.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.