What does hostile mean?
Hostile is an adjective describing conduct, attitudes, or conditions marked by antagonism or active opposition. A person may be hostile toward another person, while an audience can be hostile to a performer and a government can be hostile to a proposal. The word can also describe an environment that is difficult or dangerous to work in. Hostile carries more force than unfriendly: it suggests not merely a lack of warmth but a pronounced unwillingness to cooperate, welcome, or accept. In legal and business language, a hostile takeover refers to an acquisition carried out against the wishes of the target company's management. Because of that intensity, hostile is appropriate in formal, technical, or plainly serious contexts rather than in light social banter. Its usefulness lies in naming opposition clearly; it distinguishes active resistance or danger from simple indifference while remaining more specific and controlled than an inflammatory label.
adjectiveHostile means feeling or showing strong antagonism toward someone or something. It can also describe a position of strong opposition, a takeover resisted by the target's management, or conditions that make an activity difficult or dangerous.
- Showing strong ill will or antagonism toward someone or something.
- Strongly opposed to a proposal, policy, or course of action.
- Of a takeover or bid: sought without the consent of the target company's management.
- Unsuitable, difficult, or dangerous for an activity, as with hostile terrain or conditions.
"The negotiator was met with a hostile reception and refused to continue discussing the proposal."
"The negotiation broke down after the committee adopted a hostile attitude toward the proposal."
"Extreme cold and poor visibility make the upper valley hostile even to experienced climbers."
The Latin ancestor of hostile could mean both “enemy” and “stranger,” revealing how closely the ideas of outsider and adversary were bound.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hostile come from?
Hostile entered English in the early 17th century from French hostile, from Latin hostilis (“of or belonging to an enemy”), formed from hostis (“enemy; stranger”). The Latin root is cognate with hospes (“guest; stranger”), from which host, hospitality, hospitable, and hospital developed through Latin and Old French. The shared ancestry links ideas of the outsider, guest, and enemy, even though modern usage gives hostile a strongly adversarial sense.
Related word forms
How hostile is actually used
Hostile is neutral in register but emphatic in tone, suggesting active opposition rather than merely a lack of friendliness. When describing an attitude toward a person, policy, or action, it is commonly followed by “to” or “toward.” British and American English have established differences in the pronunciation of the final syllable.