antagonism
n.a strong feeling of dislike or opposition toward someone or something. You use this when two people or groups are actively trying to fight against each other.
n.a state of active opposition or hostility between two or more parties. Often describes a deep-seated or persistent conflict rather than a temporary disagreement.
“There is a lot of antagonism between the two political groups.”
“The new policy caused a lot of antagonism among the local farmers who felt their interests were ignored.”
“The novel explores the antagonism between the industrialists and the labor unions, showing how their mutual distrust eventually led to a city-wide strike.”
“The dialogue has devolved into the usual petty antagonism that is a hallmark of Trump’s beefs.”
“She is brilliantly portrayed as the socially-awkward, plummy ex-wife of an architect who tries to evade Laurence’s questions on the area and the class antagonisms underlying them.”
From Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent”), from ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “antagonize”), from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest”) (English agon).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.