hostility
- 01 C1 Advanced
a strong feeling of unfriendliness or disagreement toward someone or something.
the state of being hostile; an antagonistic or unfriendly attitude or disposition.
Simple“There was a lot of hostility between the two neighbors after the fence was built.”
In context“The proposed changes to the contract met with open hostility from the union representatives during the initial negotiations.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'toward' or 'towards'.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
acts of fighting in a war.
hostile behavior or direct military action; frequently used in the plural to denote active warfare.
Simple“The two countries agreed to end all hostility and sign a peace treaty.”
In context“The sudden outbreak of hostilities along the border forced the international community to intervene before the conflict escalated further.”
UsageCommonly appears in the plural form 'hostilities' when referring to a state of war.
Usage hostility toward women
“We have already seen with the Rwanda scheme how policies once considered unthinkable can be pushed dangerously far when politicians choose headlines and hostility over real solutions to human needs.”
“Rightwing parties continue to make hostility to migrants part of their core offer to voters, and will seek to capitalise on what will be presented as “Black Lives Matter gone mad”.”
From Middle English hostilitie, hostilite, from Old French hostilité, from Latin hostīlitās. By surface analysis, hostile + -ity.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.