hostile

adjective

hos·​tile ˈhä-stᵊl  -ˌstī(-ə)l 

1

a

: of or relating to an enemy

hostile fire

b

: marked by malevolence : having or showing unfriendly feelings

a hostile act

c

: openly opposed or resisting

a hostile critic

hostile to new ideas

d(1)

: not hospitable

plants growing in a hostile environment

(2)

: having an intimidating, antagonistic, or offensive nature

a hostile workplace

2

a

: of or relating to the opposing party in a legal controversy

a hostile witness

b

: adverse to the interests of a property owner or corporation management

a hostile takeover

hostile noun

hostilely

ˈhä-stᵊl-(l)ē 

-ˌstī(-ə)l-lē

adverb

Synonyms

• adversarial
• adversary
• antagonistic
• antipathetic
• inhospitable
• inimical
• jaundiced
• mortal
• negative
• unfriendly
• unsympathetic

Examples of hostile in a Sentence

Dugoni, a lawyer who coauthored a nonfiction book about an Idaho worker brain-damaged in 1996 by cyanide fumes, opens his debut novel with a wrongful death attorney in San Francisco, David Sloane, about to make his closing remarks defending a corporation in a similar case. Sloane, who has won 14 cases in a row, hates his arrogant client and must face an obviously hostile jury. —Publishers Weekly, 9 Jan. 2006

Relations with neighboring societies may be intermittently or chronically hostile. A society may be able to hold off its enemies as long as it is strong, only to succumb when it becomes weakened for any reason, including environmental damage. —Jared M. Diamond, Collapse, 2005

I do not want a hostile relationship with my surgeon. But it's obvious he's pigeonholed me into the last of the four patient categories that doctors use when writing a case history: young, middle-aged, senior, elderly. —Sylvia Simmons, Newsweek, 10 June 2002

Even when one is inside a climate-controlled spacecraft, sheltered from the deadly vacuum outside, space is a hostile setting. Terrestrial organisms venturing off the planet face a number of threats, chief among them cosmic radiation and the near absence of gravity. —Kenneth S. Kosik, Air & Space, June/July 2001

Lotus Development Corp. succumbed to a sweetened offer of $3.52 billion, or $64 a share, from International Business Machines Corp. in one of the fastest capitulations ever in a hostile takeover. A marathon week of negotiations, which began shortly after IBM unveiled a surprise bid of $60 a share for Lotus last Monday, ended yesterday with the signing of a definitive agreement. —Laurie Hays et al., Wall Street Journal, 12 June 1995

While the stereotype of the tortured artist brooding alone in a drafty garret may be an exaggeration, artists of all kinds—painters, musicians, poets, singers—often find themselves struggling to cope in a … world downright hostile to their work. Financial hardships, loneliness, family members who nag them to get "real" jobs, and their own self-destructive attitudes and habits can block creativity and prevent artists from pursuing their vision. —New Age Journal, Winter 1995

They were entering hostile territory.

Her suggestions were given a hostile reception.

It was a small town that was hostile to outsiders.

The camel is specially adapted to its hostile desert habitat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations – most of them from Afghanistan – Pakistan has not always welcomed the foreigners, subjecting them to hostile living conditions and threatening deportation over the years. —Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025

Andreas typically waits until there have been three instances of potential hostile communication before asking her friend or colleague if everything is OK. —Angela Haupt, Time, 28 Mar. 2025

With Duke set to enter a hostile environment that weekend, and in the postseason thereafter, Rausch figured Quinn and his experiences could be a helpful resource. —Brendan Marks, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025

The data could expose the officials to hostile intelligence services that could conceivably use it to hack communications and plant spyware on those officials’ devices, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin hostīlis, from hostis "enemy" + -īlis "pertaining to or characteristic of (such persons)" — more at host entry 4

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing hostile

• hostile takeover
• hostile witness

Rhymes for hostile

• costal
• hostel
• intercostal
• pentecostal
• subcostal

Kids Definition

hostile

adjective

hos·​tile ˈhäs-tᵊl  -ˌtīl 

1

: of or relating to an enemy

hostile troops

2

: showing open resistance or opposition

a hostile critic

hostile to new things

3

: not hospitable : forbidding

a hostile environment

hostilely

-tᵊl-(l)ē 

-tīl-lē

adverb

Etymology

from early French hostile or Latin hostilis, both meaning "hostile," from Latin hostis "stranger, enemy" — related to hospital, host entry 1

Legal Definition

hostile

adjective

hos·​tile

1

: having an intimidating, antagonistic, or offensive nature

a hostile work environment

2

a

: of or relating to an opposing party in a legal action

a hostile claim

b

: adverse to the interests of a party to a legal action

if the interests of the party joined involuntarily render him hostile to the original plaintiff, he must remain a defendant

—J. H. Friedenthal et al.

3

a

: adverse to or incompatible with the interests of a property owner

a hostile use

see also adverse possession at possession, easement by prescription at easement, prescription sense 1

b

: unwelcome by or contrary to the interests of corporate stockholders or management

a hostile takeover bid