Hostility

How to spell hostility

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce hostility

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does hostility mean?

1. nounStrong opposition, unfriendliness, or aggressive antagonism toward someone or something.
2. nounA state of conflict or armed opposition between groups or nations.

Hostility in a sentence

• The new manager faced open hostility from staff who resented the changes.

• The treaty was signed to bring an end to years of hostility along the border.

• There was clear hostility in his tone during the contract negotiations.

• A fragile ceasefire paused the hostility between the two factions.

Where does hostility come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin hostis, which originally meant 'a stranger' or 'foreigner' but came to mean 'an enemy', since strangers were often treated with suspicion. From hostis came the adjective hostilis, meaning 'belonging to an enemy' or 'unfriendly', and from that the noun hostilitas, the quality of being an enemy. English borrowed the word in the late 1400s through Old French hostilite, keeping the sense of open antagonism. The same hostis root sits behind the friendlier-seeming 'host' in the sense of an army or multitude, and even behind 'hostage', a person held by an enemy. Remembering that the core is the Latin hostilis helps fix the single 's' and the -ility ending rather than a doubled letter.

How the word is built

• hostil- (from Latin hostilis: of an enemy)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix)