Word bank

Improve your reading skills, Memorize words and practice vocabulary

Memorized by 60+ users

hostile

/ˈhɒstaɪl/
Meanings
  • adjective

    unfriendly, unaccommodating, or aggressive.

    - "The hostile environment made it difficult for new employees to adjust."
    - "The two countries have been hostile neighbors for centuries."
Pronunciation
  1. /ˈhɑstaɪl/



    Source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2100757"
Antonyms

friendly
Synonyms

antagonistic , hateful , inimical , unfriendly
Rhymes
Words rhyming with hostile
ostrich , wishy-washy , dishy , fissy
Variants
List of all variants of hostile that leads to same result
hostile , hostilely , hostiles , hostile takeover , hostile witness
Forms
Different forms of the word (e.g., verb conjugations, plural forms, comparative/superlative forms for adjectives).

hostility, hostilely, hostileness

Etymology
origin and the way in which meanings have changed throughout history.

From Old French hostil, from hoste 'enemy', from Latin hostis 'enemy, stranger, foreigner'.

Trivia
Any details, considerations, events or pieces of information regarding the word

  1. The term 'hostile' comes from the Latin word 'hostis', which means 'enemy'.

  2. In computer science, a 'hostile program' is a program that is designed to harm or disrupt the operation of other programs or the computer system as a whole.

Related Concepts
informations on related concepts or terms closely associated with the word. Discuss semantic fields or domains that the word belongs to

  1. unfriendly: Related concept that describes a lack of friendliness or warmth towards others.

  2. aggression: Related concept that describes behavior intended to cause harm or intimidate others.

Quotes
Quotes by authors and personalities

  1. 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,{it}Collapse{/it},2005

  2. 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.

    - {it}Publishers Weekly{/it},9 Jan. 2006

  3. 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,{it}Air & Space{/it},June/July 2001

  4. 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,{it}Newsweek{/it},10 June 2002

  5. 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.,{it}Wall Street Journal{/it},12 June 1995

  6. 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.

    - {it}New Age Journal{/it},Winter 1995
Culture
Any cultural, historical, or symbolic significance of the word. Explore how the word has been used in literature, art, music, or other forms of expression.

In literature, 'hostile' is often used to describe characters or environments that are unfriendly or unwelcoming. In art, the term can be used to describe works that depict conflict or adversity.

How to Memorize "hostile"

  1. visualize

    - Imagine a person or environment that is unfriendly or unwelcoming. Visualize their body language, tone of voice, and actions.

  2. associate

    - Associate the word 'hostile' with words like 'unfriendly', 'unwelcoming', and 'aggressive'.

  3. mnemonics

    - Create a mnemonic using the first letter of each definition: H - hostile, U - unfriendly, S - unaccommodating, T - threatening, I - intimidating, L - lacks warmth, E - evasive.

Memorize "hostile" using Dictozo

The best and recommended way to memorize hostile is, by using Dictozo. Just save the word in Dictozo extension and let the app handle the rest. It enhances the memorization process in two ways:

  1. Highlighting:

    Whenever users encounters the saved word on a webpage, Dictozo highlights it, drawing the user's attention and reinforcing memorization.

  2. Periodic Reminders:

    Dictozo will send you periodic reminders to remind you the saved word, it will ask you quiz. These reminders could be in the form of notifications or emails, prompting users to recall and reinforce their knowledge.

Install Now