Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Hostility |
HostilityNoun1. A hostile (very unfriendly) disposition; "he could not conceal his hostility". 2. A state of deep-seated ill-will. 3. The feeling of a hostile person; "he could no longer contain his hostility". 4. Violent action that is hostile and usually unprovoked. 5. Acts of overt warfare; "the outbreak of hostilities". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "hostility" was first used: sometime in the early 15th century. (references) |
Etymology: Hostility \Hos*til"i*ty\, noun; plural Hostilities. [Latin hostilitas: compare to French hostilit['e].]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | HOSTILITY, n. A peculiarly sharp and specially applied sense of the earth's overpopulation. Hostility is classified as active and passive; as (respectively) the feeling of a woman for her female friends, and that which she entertains for all the rest of her sex. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: HostilitySynonyms: aggression (n), antagonism (n), belligerency (n), enmity (n), ill will (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Enmity | Noun: enmity, hostility; unfriendliness; Adjective: discord; bitterness, rancor. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Hostility |
| English words defined with "hostility": aggression, aggressiveness, alien, alienate, alienating, alienation, animosity, animus, antagonise, antagonising, antagonism, antagonistic, antagonize, antagonizing ♦ bad blood, bitter, black ♦ capital of Tibet, conciliating, conciliative, conciliatory, confront, Controlment ♦ dirty, disaffect, disarming ♦ estrange, estrangement ♦ face, Forbidden City ♦ Hostilities, Hunkerism ♦ Iconomachy, ill, In arms, Inimicality ♦ Lassa, latent hostility, Lhasa ♦ opponent, opposing, Oppugnant ♦ persist ♦ remain ♦ starer, stay ♦ tension, The Adversary ♦ unconcealed ♦ virulence, virulency ♦ With. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "hostility": Bury the Hatchet ♦ Coals, Codlin's your Friend, not Short ♦ delusion of persecution ♦ hard boot ♦ minister. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I do. I can't imagine a relationship without hostility and spite (Grapevine; writing credit: David Frankel) That explains the hostility. (Fled; writing credit: Preston A. Whitmore II) You've always had hostility towards David, ever since I mentioned him. (Annie Hall; writing credit: Woody Allen ; Marshall Brickman) You don't have hostility to the male sex, do you (Bananas; writing credit: Woody Allen; Mickey Rose) | |
Lyrics | Late at night don't need hostility (Twist in my Sobriety; performing artist: Tanita Tikaram) | |
Clever | The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Feeling of Hostility (1948) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Theater & Movies | |||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Seneca | He who dreads hostility too much is unfit to rule. |
Thomas Jefferson | I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | In proportion as the antagonism between classes within the nation vanishes, the hostility of one nation to another will come to an end. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Wherever there is a pretty woman, hostility is open |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Taking high doses of some stimulants repeatedly over a short time can lead to feelings of hostility or paranoia. (references) | |
This will help them avoid the mistake of confusing the person's behavior with laziness, hostility, rejection, or lack of interest and motivation. (references) | ||
Parents should look for withdrawal, depression, fatigue, carelessness with grooming, hostility, and deteriorating relationships with family members and friends. (references) | ||
Business | Factors that have so far prevented this migration are the high cost of employing a local workforce in these countries, and the unexpected hostility of the French and Belgian truckers. (references) | |
A "eurobarometer 2000" poll exemplifies this hostility against genetically modified food. Common sentiments echoed by respondents were that, “even if GM-food has advantages, it is against nature;” “if something went wrong, it would be a global disaster;” and “GM-food is simply not necessary. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Angola | There also was growing hostility against traditional religions that involve shamans. (references) |
Pakistan | This has resulted in some hostility among local communities whose residents resent the economic competition and believe that the refugees contribute to high crime rates. (references) | |
Iran | The political and religious authorities of that time joined to suppress the movement, and since then the hostility of the Shi'a clergy to the Baha'i Faith has remained intense. (references) | |
Economic History | Kyrgyzstan | Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan's hostility toward Kyrgyzstan was short-lived, and the three nations signed an agreement in January 1994 creating an economic union. (references) |
Burma | As such, judges do not allow a free defense in "policy cases" and decisions are predetermined by the SPDC. The SPDC exhibits special hostility towards lawyers. (references) | |
Sierra Leone | In 1787 the British helped 400 freed slaves from the United States, Nova Scotia, and Great Britain return to Sierra Leone to settle in what they called the "Province of Freedom." Disease and hostility from the indigenous people nearly eliminated the first group of returnees. (references) | |
Human Rights | Laos | These persons peacefully had advocated multiparty democracy and increased political freedom and had expressed hostility to the regime. (references) |
Tanzania | As a result of increased criminal activity allegedly perpetrated by some Burundian refugees, there is significant hostility and resentment against Burundian refugees. (references) | |
Minorities | Mauritania | Interethnic bitterness and hostility persists, and continues to be aggravated by climatic, land, and population pressures. (references) |
Political Economy | Tanzania | In the western part of the country, there remained significant resentment and hostility directed against the refugee population; however, there was some improvement in relations due to government and donor outreach efforts with the local population. (references) |
Political Rights | Uzbekistan | By law the Government prohibits formation of parties based on religion or ethnicity; those that oppose the sovereignty, integrity and security of the country and the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens; or those that promote war, or social, national, or religious hostility. (references) |
Worker Rights | Benin | There were no known instances of efforts by the Government to retaliate against union activity; however, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) alleged that hostility to trade unions persisted and that union members were intimidated. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | MINISTER, n. An agent of a higher power with a lower responsibility. In diplomacy and officer sent into a foreign country as the visible embodiment of his sovereign's hostility. His principal qualification is a degree of plausible inveracity next below that of an ambassador. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dennis Miller | The problem with being selfish is that it breeds hostility in others. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George Washington | 1789-1797 | Measures are pursuing to prevent or mitigate the usual consequences of such outrages, and with the hope of their succeeding at least to avert general hostility. |
James Madison | 1809-1817 | From such an adversary hostility in its greatest force and in its worst forms may be looked for. |
John Quincy Adams | 1825-1829 | The perpetrators of the murders were surrendered to the authority and operation of our laws, and every appearance of purposed hostility from those Indian tribes has subsided. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | There must be a settlement of the armed hostility that exists in that region of the world today. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Hostility" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Hostility" is used about 1,350 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 1,350 | 5,891 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "hostility": hostility to foreigners ♦ hostility towards a country at war or foreign troops ♦ irrational hostility ♦ latent hostility ♦ overt hostility ♦ with hostility. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "hostility": love-hostility, non-hostility. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
hostility | 15 |
carlin floating free george hostility lyrics | 3 |
hostility workplace | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "hostility"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | حقد (animosity, antagonism, bear a grudge, bitter feeling, gall, grudge, hatred, ill will, malevolence, malice, malignancy, malignity, rancor, rancour, spite, spitefulness, venom), عمل عدواني, عداء (animosity, feud, galloper, galloping, racing, running, war), خصومة (antagonism, dispute, enmity, quarrel). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | враждебност (aggression, animosity, antagonism, enmity, ill feeling), неприязън (animosity, disaffection, dislike, jaundice, malevolence). (various references) | |
Chinese | 敌意 (Hostilities, inimical), 敵意 (enmity), 仇恨 (enmity, hatred). (various references) | |
Czech | nepřátelství (animosity, enmity, ill feeling). (various references) | |
Finnish | vihollisuus (enmity), vihamielisyys (animosity, hostile attitude). (various references) | |
French | hostilité. (various references) | |
German | feindseligkeit (animosity, animus, antagonism, malevolence, unfriendliness), feindschaft (enmities, enmity), Anfeindung. (various references) | |
Greek | εχθρότητα (animosity, enmity, malevolence, unfriendliness). (various references) | |
Hebrew | עוי ות (animosity, animus, enmity), איב" (animosity, enmity, hate, hatred, malice, odium). (various references) | |
Hungarian | viszály (breach, conflict, contention, controversy, discord, discordance, division, faction, feud, jarring, strife, variance), rosszindulat (animosity, bitchiness, censoriousness, gall, ill will, malevolence, malice, malignancy, malignity, mischief, mischievousness, spite, viciousness), ellenségeskedés (animosity, enmity, feud, quarrel), ellenséges viszony, ellenséges érzelem. (various references) | |
Indonesian | perseteruan (enmity), permusuhan (antagonism, enmity), kebencian (abhorrence, animus, detestation, dislike, hate, hatred, loathing, rancour). (various references) | |
Italian | ostilit (enmity), inimicizia (enmity). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 敵意 (animosity), 敵愾心 (enmity), 敵意 (animosity), 敵対 (antagonism, opposition), 反目 (antagonism, enmity), 反抗 (defiance, insubordination, opposition, rebellion, resistance), 反対 (antagonism, contrast, dissension, objection, opposite, opposition, resistance, reverse, vice versa). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | は"たい (antagonism, contrast, dissension, objection, opposite, opposition, resistance, reverse, vice versa), は""う (circulation, clan school, counteroffensive, crime, criminal act, daimyo, defiance, distribution, feudal lord, han school, insubordination, offence, opposition, printing, promulgation, publishing, rebellion, resistance, sealling), は"もく (antagonism, enmity), てきたい (antagonism, opposition), てきがいし" (enmity), てきい (animosity). (various references) | |
Korean | 의. (various references) | |
Manx | noidys (animosity, antagonism, enmity, feud), noidanys, noidaght, asschaarjys (antagonism, estrangement, strained relations). (various references) | |
Norwegian | fiendtlighet, fiendskap (animosity, enmity). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ostilityhay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | hostilidade (enmity, war), oposio, inimizade (enmity), estado de guerra (warfare), animosidade (animosity, animus, bad blood, courage). (various references) | |
Romanian | vitregie (cruelty, wickedness), stare de rãzboi (militancy), rea-voinţã (ill will, malevolence, malignancy, venom), potrivnicie (hindrance, malice, misfortune), ostilitate (dead set, enmity, ill blood, ill will), ostilitãţi (warfare), opoziţie (antagonism, antithesis, caveat, conflict, contradistinction, contraposition, contrariety, dead set, opponency, opposite, opposition, resistance, stand), duşmãnie (acrimony, animosity, animus, bad blood, bad feeling, enmity, grudge, ill blood, ill feeling, rancor, rancour, spite), antagonism (antagonism, conflict). (various references) | |
Russian | враждебность;военные действия. (various references) | |
Scottish | n imhdeas (enmity, malice). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | odbojnost, neprijateljstvo (animosity, antagonism, enmity, hatred, unfriendliness). (various references) | |
Spanish | hostilidad (adverse attitude, antipathy, ill feeling, needle, vitriol). (various references) | |
Swedish | fientlighet (animosity). (various references) | |
Thai | ความเป็นศัตรู (enmity). (various references) | |
Turkish | muhalefet (contrariety, defiance, dissension, dissent, dissidence, opposition, oppositional, out, the outs), kin (animosity, animus, antagonism, despite, enmity, gall, grudge, hate, hatred, ill feeling, malevolence, malignity, rancor, rancour, resentment, revenge, spite, venom, venomousness, virulence), karşıtlık (antinomy, contrariness, opposition, reciprocity), düşmanlık (animosity, animus, antagonism, bad blood, dead set, enmity, feud, hatred, opposition, venom, virulence, war). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | ворожість (animosity, animus, ill feeling, inveteracy, opponency, war), ворожнеча (antagonism, dissension, enmity). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | thái độ thù địch, sự thù địch. (various references) | |
Welsh | gelyniaeth (animosity, animus, enmity). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Sumerian | 3100 BCE-2500 BCE | 1. bal, gug. (various references) |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | inimicitia, inimicitiae, inimicitiam, inimicitias, inimicitiis. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | anda. (various references) |
| Middle French | 1400-1600 | hostile. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Hostility" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: hastility, hecticity, hostillity, hostilty. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "hostility" (pronounced hÄsti"lutē) |
| 6 | -t i" l u t ē | ductility, fertility, futility, gentility, infertility, motility, nonutility, utility, versatility, volatility. |
| 5 | -i" l u t ē | acceptability, accessibility, ability, adaptability, admissibility, advisability, affordability, agility, amiability, applicability, availability, believability, capability, civility, comparability, compatibility, comprehensibility, convertibility, credibility, culpability, debility, deductibility, deniability, dependability, desirability, disability, irresponsibility, irritability, docility, durability, electability, eligibility, enforceability, facility, fallibility, feasibility, flammability, flexibility, fragility, gullibility, humility, immobility, impossibility, inability, inaccessibility, incivility, incompatibility, indestructibility, inevitability, infallibility, inflexibility, instability, invincibility, invisibility, invulnerability, legibility, liability, malleability, maneuverability, marketability, miscibility, mobility, nobility, palatability, permeability, plausibility, portability, possibility, predictability, probability, profitability, readability, reliability, respectability, responsibility, senility, sensibility, stability, sterility, suitability, survivability, susceptibility, sustainability, tranquility, transferability, unavailability, unpredictability, unreliability, variability, viability, virility, visibility, vulnerability. |
| 4 | -l u t ē | abnormality, accountability, actuality, banality, bestiality, bisexuality, brutality, causality, centrality, collegiality, commonality, conditionality, confidentiality, congeniality, constitutionality, credulity, criminality, criticality, cyclicality, dimensionality, legality, duality, equality, eventuality, extraterritoriality, fatality, fidelity, finality, formality, frivolity, frugality, functionality, generality, geniality, heterosexuality, homosexuality, hospitality, illegality, immorality, immortality, impartiality, impersonality, incredulity, individuality, inequality, infidelity, informality, instrumentality, irrationality, lethality, liberality, locality, materiality, mentality, modality, morality, mortality, municipality, musicality, mutuality, nationality, neutrality, normality, originality, partiality, personality, plurality, polity, practicality, principality, proportionality, punctuality, quality, rationality, reality, seasonality, sensuality, sentimentality, sexuality, speciality, spirituality, technicality, theatricality, tonality, totality, triviality, universality, unreality, venality, vitality. |
| 3 | -u t ē | absurdity, acidity, activity, acuity, adversity, affinity, aggressivity, alacrity, alkalinity, ambiguity, amenity, amity, analyticity, animosity, annuity, anonymity, antiquity, anxiety, atrocity, audacity, austerity, authenticity, authority, barbarity, biodiversity, brevity, calamity, capacity, captivity, cavity, celebrity, charity, chastity, clarity, commodity, community, complexity, complicity, conductivity, conformity, congruity, connectivity, continuity, creativity, crotchety, curiosity, deformity, deity, density, depravity, deputy, dexterity, dignity, discontinuity, laity, laxity, disparity, dissimilarity, disunity, diversity, divinity, domesticity, duplicity, eccentricity, elasticity, electricity, enmity, enormity, entity, equanimity, equity, eternity, ethnicity, exclusivity, expressivity, extremity, falsity, familiarity, Felicity, femininity, ferocity, festivity, fluidity, fraternity, generosity, gratuity, gravity, heredity, heterogeneity, hilarity, homogeneity, humanity, humidity, hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, identity, illiquidity, immaturity, immunity, impropriety, impunity, impurity, inactivity, incapacity, incongruity, indemnity, indignity, inequity, inferiority, infinity, infirmity, ingenuity, inhumanity, insanity, insecurity, insensitivity, insularity, integrity, intensity, irregularity, levity, liquidity, lividity, longevity, majority, masculinity, maternity, maturity, mediocrity, mendacity, minority, modernity, monstrosity, morbidity, multiplicity, nativity, necessity, negativity, Nonconformity, nonentity, notoriety, nudity, obesity, objectivity, obscenity, obscurity, oddity, opacity, opportunity, overcapacity, oversensitivity, parity, particularity, passivity, paternity, paucity, peculiarity, perpetuity, perplexity, perversity, piety, polarity, pomposity, popularity, posterity, priority, probity, proclivity, productivity, profanity, progressivity, promiscuity, propensity, propriety, prosperity, proximity, publicity, purity, quantity, radioactivity, rapidity, rarity, reactivity, receptivity, reciprocity, reflexivity, regularity, relativity, religiosity, retroactivity, rickety, rigidity, salinity, sanctity, sanity, scarcity, security, selectivity, seniority, sensitivity, serendipity, serenity, severity, similarity, simplicity, sincerity, sobriety, society, solemnity, solidarity, solidity, sorority, specificity, spontaneity, stupidity, subjectivity, superconductivity, superfluidity, superiority, supermajority, surety, temerity, tenacity, timidity, toxicity, Trinity, turbidity, ubiquity, unanimity, unfamiliarity, uniformity, unity, university, unpopularity, uppity, validity, vanity, variety, varsity, velocity, velvety, veracity, Verity, vicinity, virginity, virtuosity, viscosity, voracity, vulgarity. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "h-i-i-l-o-s-t-t-y" | |
-2 letters: thistly. | |
-3 letters: holist, hostly, lithos, otitis, stithy, thiols, tilths, toyish. | |
-4 letters: hilts, hoist, holts, hotly, litho, shily, shott, silty, sloth, stilt, styli, thiol, tilth, tilts, titis, toils, toits. | |
-5 letters: hili, hilt, hist, hits, hols, holt, holy, host, hots, hoys, list, lits, lost, loth, loti, lots, oils, oily, shot, silo, silt, sith, slit, slot, soil. | |
| Words containing the letters "h-i-i-l-o-s-t-t-y" | |
+2 letters: hospitality, lithotripsy. | |
+3 letters: polytheistic. | |
+4 letters: cholecystitis, ichthyologist, inhospitality. | |
+5 letters: bloodthirstily, ichthyologists, polytheistical. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Familiar 7. Quotations: Historic 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Spoken 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
