The plain hostile meaning is unfriendly in an aggressive way, showing that you dislike or oppose someone or something. A neighbour who glares, slams the gate and refuses to answer your greeting is being hostile.
The word stretches well beyond moods. A desert can be a hostile environment, a company can make a hostile takeover bid, and a court can treat a witness as hostile. In each case the core idea is the same: something is working against you rather than with you.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Unfriendly and aggressive; opposed; harsh and difficult to survive inPart of speech
Adjective (rarely a noun: a hostile, an enemy)Pronunciation
US HOS-tuhl; UK HOS-tileWord forms
hostility (noun), hostilities (plural, meaning fighting), hostilely (adverb, rare)Origin
French hostile or Latin hostilis, from hostis, "stranger, enemy"; English from the late 1400sOpposite
friendly, welcoming, supportive, hospitableRegister
Neutral; common in news, law and business
The hostile meaning in four everyday senses
To define hostile properly you need four uses, all sharing the idea of opposition:
- Unfriendly toward a person: showing anger, suspicion or dislike. "The crowd grew hostile when the speaker arrived late."
- Opposed to an idea or plan: "Many residents were hostile to the new highway." Here it means strongly against, not necessarily rude.
- Harsh or dangerous, about places and conditions: a hostile climate, hostile terrain, a hostile environment for plants.
- Belonging to an enemy in war: hostile aircraft, hostile forces, hostile territory.
Hostile in sentences
- The interviewer's tone turned hostile when I asked about the salary.
- Mosses can grow in places so hostile that few other plants survive.
- Fans of the away team got a hostile welcome at the stadium.
- Some readers were openly hostile to the paper's change of style.
- After years of hostility, the two cousins finally sat down and talked.
Special uses in law, business and design
Several fixed phrases give the word a technical edge:
- Hostile witness: a witness who turns against the side that called them to testify. Courts in the US and in India can then let that side question the witness more sharply, for example with leading questions. Indian news often reports that a witness "turned hostile".
- Hostile work environment: in US employment law, workplace harassment based on a protected trait such as race, sex or religion that is severe or frequent enough to make the job abusive.
- Hostile takeover: when one company buys control of another against the wishes of the target's board, often by going straight to shareholders. Compare a friendly acquisition.
- Hostile architecture: design choices, such as sloped benches or spikes, meant to stop people from sitting or sleeping in public spaces.
Grammar notes and the definition of hostile in use
Hostile usually takes to or toward(s): hostile to change, hostile toward strangers. It works before a noun (a hostile look) or after verbs like be, become, turn and grow (the mood turned hostile).
The noun hostility means unfriendly feeling or behaviour: "open hostility", "hostility between the groups". In the plural, hostilities means actual fighting, as in "hostilities ended after a ceasefire". This plural use is formal and mostly found in news and history writing.
Hostile next to aggressive, belligerent and friends
| Word | Difference |
|---|---|
| Unfriendly | Milder; may just mean cold or distant |
| Aggressive | Ready to attack or push hard; can be physical |
| Antagonistic | Actively working against someone, close to hostile |
| Belligerent | Eager to fight or argue |
| Inimical | Formal; harmful or unfavourable to something |
The opposite of hostile is friendly, welcoming or hospitable, and for ideas, supportive or receptive. For the strong feelings that often sit behind hostile acts, see animosity and malice. A person who is cool but not openly unfriendly is better called aloof.
Stranger, guest, enemy: where hostile comes from
Hostile comes from Latin hostilis, "of an enemy", built on hostis. That word first meant a stranger or foreigner and later an enemy. It is related to the root behind host, guest and hospitality. Ancient communities saw strangers as possible guests or possible threats, and the words split along those two paths. So hostile and hospitable, now opposites, grew from the same old idea of the outsider.
That is the full meaning of hostile, from mood to battlefield. Browse more everyday vocabulary for similar adjectives.
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of hostile for a beginner?
Picture someone who is unfriendly and makes it clear they are against you or your idea. A hostile person may argue, glare or refuse to cooperate. A hostile place is harsh and hard to live in.
What does it mean when a witness turns hostile?
It means the witness gives evidence that goes against the side that called them, often changing an earlier statement. The court may then allow that side to question them as if they were an opposing witness.
Is hostile always about anger?
No. Hostile to an idea can just mean firmly opposed. A hostile climate has no feelings at all; it is simply harsh.
How do you pronounce hostile?
In American English it is HOS-tuhl, with a short second syllable. In British and Indian English, HOS-tile, rhyming with "style", is common.
Is hostility the same word as hostile?
Hostile describes a person, place or act. Hostility names the unfriendly attitude itself, as in "we felt the hostility in the room".
What is the opposite of hostile?
Friendly, welcoming and hospitable are the usual opposites. For opinions, supportive or open-minded fit better.