Did you know?
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
hostility
- definition
What are red words?
90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.
Thesaurus
The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.
more
/hɑˈstɪləti/ 
| singular | hostility |
| plural | hostilities |
- 1[uncountable] unfriendly or threatening behavior or feelings toward someone
They were greeted with suspicion and hostility at first.
hostility between:There is no hostility between the staff and pupils.
hostility to/towards:I found it hard to handle people’s hostility towards me.
- 2[uncountable] opposition to somethinghostility to/toward:
There is always some hostility to new technology.
- 3
hostilities
[plural] formal fighting between enemies in a warcessation of hostilities (=an end to the fighting):The UN is demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities.
hostility between:the likelihood of renewed hostilities between the two countries
the outbreak of hostilities (=the start of fighting):Anti-war demonstrations continued after the outbreak of hostilities.
This is the American English definition of hostility. View British English definition of hostility.
Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.
vocal fry
a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence
BuzzWord ArticleWord of the Day
watchword
a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention
Open Dictionary
conflict mineral
a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons
add a wordMore submissions
view entriesBlog
A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.
global English and language change from our blog