INDEX:
1. not friendly
2. when someone prefers not to be with other people
3. when relationships are unfriendly
4. when a particular place or situation seems unfriendly
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ FRIENDLY
to reject someone who is trying to be friendly : ↑ REJECT (5)
see also
↑ UNKIND
↑ RUDE
↑ HORRIBLE
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1. not friendly
▷ unfriendly/not friendly /ʌnˈfrendli, nɒt ˈfrendli/ [adjective]
▪ It’s very difficult to work with Lindsay - she’s so unfriendly.
▪ I’m sorry if I sounded unfriendly on the phone - I was just tired.
▪ The service at the hotel was bad and the staff weren’t very friendly.
unfriendly/not friendly to/towards
▪ The other girls weren’t openly unfriendly towards her, but they never invited her along with them.
unfriendliness [uncountable noun]
▪ The fact that he didn’t invite you had more to do with insecurity than unfriendliness.
▷ cold /kəʊld/ [adjective]
behaving towards other people as if you do not like them or care about them :
▪ His manner all evening was cold and unfriendly.
▪ Next time she saw Harry he wasn’t rude to her, just very cold.
cold to
▪ She was oddly cold to him, and I wondered what had happened.
coldly [adverb]
▪ He looked at me coldly, but said nothing.
▷ inhospitable /ˌɪnhɒˈspɪtəb ə lǁˌɪnhɑː-/ [adjective]
unfriendly to people who are visiting your home or country by not doing anything to make them feel welcome :
▪ Generally, the people I met in the city were rude and inhospitable.
▪ So many tourists had visited the monastery that the monks had grown somewhat inhospitable.
▷ hostile /ˈhɒstaɪlǁˈhɑːstl, ˈhɑːstaɪl/ [adjective]
very unfriendly, and ready to argue with someone, criticize them, or fight with them :
▪ There was a crowd of hostile demonstrators waiting outside her door.
hostile to/towards
▪ He was hostile towards me when I arrived, and the situation did not improve over the next few days.
openly hostile
▪ Several of the neighbors had become openly hostile to one another.
hostility /hɒˈstɪlɪti, hɒˈstɪlətiǁhɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
▪ I thought I detected a little hostility in his voice.
open hostility
not hiding hostile feelings
▪ Her cool politeness had given way to open hostility.
▷ antagonistic /ænˌtægəˈnɪstɪk◂/ [adjective]
unfriendly and trying to cause arguments with someone :
▪ I can’t understand why he’s being so antagonistic.
antagonistic towards/to
▪ Why are Kate and John so antagonistic towards each other?
antagonism /ænˈtægənɪz ə m/ [uncountable noun]
antagonistic between
▪ The antagonism between her two grown sons was almost too much for Celia to bear.
antagonistic towards/to
▪ The judge’s antagonism towards the defendant was clear to everyone.
▷ give somebody the cold shoulder /ˌgɪv somebody ðə ˌkəʊld ˈʃəʊldəʳ/ [verb phrase] informal
to ignore someone and be unfriendly to them, especially because they have upset or offended you :
▪ After I got the promotion, a few of my co-workers started giving me the cold shoulder.
▷ cliquey/cliquish /ˈkliːki, ˈkliːkɪʃ/ [adjective]
a group of people who are cliquey or cliquish are friendly to the other people within that group but not to the people outside it :
▪ Everyone at the school was so cliquey, it was hard for me to make new friends.
▪ It was a cliquish group, with the older members staying aloof from the younger ones.
2. when someone prefers not to be with other people
▷ distant /ˈdɪstənt/ [adjective]
unfriendly and showing no emotion, as if other people’s lives are of no interest to you :
▪ The neighbors seem very distant, although I try to be friendly.
▪ As she was growing up, her father was always distant and took little interest in her achievements.
▷ aloof /əˈluːf/ [adjective]
unfriendly and not wanting to talk to other people or spend time with them, especially because you think you are better than them :
▪ Barbara remained aloof behind the barrier of her menu.
▪ The organization is controlled by aloof intellectuals who do not take an interest in the ordinary members.
aloofness [uncountable noun]
▪ Sam had a certain aloofness that made people afraid to approach him.
▷ stand-offish/standoffish /ˌstænd ˈɒfɪʃǁ-ˈɔːf-/ [adjective not usually before noun]
behaving in an unfriendly and rather formal way, as if you do not want to get too involved with other people :
▪ She can be quite stand-offish sometimes.
▪ He was well-liked by the senior members of the firm, even though his colleagues found him standoffish and arrogant.
▷ antisocial /ˌæntɪˈsəʊʃ ə l◂/ [adjective]
someone who is antisocial does not enjoy being with other people and tries to avoid meeting them or talking to them :
▪ Not everyone who likes playing computer games is an antisocial loner.
▪ Because she was so shy, people often thought she was antisocial.
▷ unapproachable /ˌʌnəˈprəʊtʃəb ə l◂/ [adjective]
someone who is unapproachable seems unfriendly so that you are nervous about talking to them :
▪ He kept his arms crossed in front of him and seemed somewhat unapproachable.
▪ A lot of the guys thought she was attractive, but she seemed so unapproachable that no one dared to talk to her.
3. when relationships are unfriendly
▷ unfriendly/not friendly /ʌnˈfrendli, nɒt ˈfrendli/ [adjective]
▪ She used to get on well with her neighbours but now things aren’t very friendly.
▪ Unfriendly relations between the two countries nearly led to war.
on unfriendly terms/not on friendly terms
with an unfriendly relationship
▪ They’ve been on unfriendly terms ever since their argument.
▷ cool /kuːl/ [adjective]
less friendly than usual, so that people do not smile at each other, talk to each other in a friendly way etc :
▪ The cool relationship between the two men affected the entire team.
▪ When Bill finally arrived, nearly an hour late, he got a rather cool reception.
▷ strained /streɪnd/ [adjective]
a situation or relationship that is strained is not friendly or relaxed, because people feel worried or do not trust each other :
▪ The meeting took place in a strained atmosphere.
▪ Our relationship became very strained because I had refused to lend him money.
▷ frosty /ˈfrɒstiǁˈfrɔːsti/ [adjective]
very unfriendly, especially following an argument or because someone feels offended :
▪ After their quarrel, things between Maria and her father were rather frosty.
▷ turn sour /ˌtɜːʳn ˈsaʊəʳ/ [verb phrase]
if a relationship turns sour, the people involved in it start to dislike each other and to behave in an unfriendly way towards each other :
▪ After five years their marriage turned sour and ended in divorce.
▪ When the company began to lose money, things turned sour between the directors.
4. when a particular place or situation seems unfriendly
▷ unfriendly/not friendly /ʌnˈfrendli, nɒt ˈfrendli/ [adjective]
▪ I don’t like going to that bar - it’s not very friendly.
unfriendly/not friendly to/towards
▪ The city has a reputation for being unfriendly to minorities.
▷ unwelcoming /ʌnˈwelkəmɪŋ/ [adjective]
making you feel that you are not wanted :
▪ The entrance to the factory is cold, bare, and unwelcoming.
unwelcoming to/towards
▪ The new fence is just one example of the city’s attempt to make public spaces unwelcoming to the homeless.
▷ inhospitable /ˌɪnhɒˈspɪtəb ə lǁˌɪnhɑː-/ [adjective]
unfriendly and difficult to feel relaxed in :
▪ The tribe has lived for generations in the inhospitable mountain regions of the country.
inhospitable to/towards
▪ The brokerage firm has always been extremely inhospitable to women.
▷ impersonal /ɪmˈpɜːʳs ə n ə l/ [adjective]
a place or situation that is impersonal lacks the normal friendly relations between people who work or do business together, as if such feelings were considered unimportant :
▪ They just handed over the keys and walked out - it was all so impersonal.
▪ I had no desire to work for a large, impersonal organization.
▷ forbidding /fəʳˈbɪdɪŋ/ [adjective]
a forbidding place seems unfriendly, uncomfortable, and a little frightening, so that you do not want to go there :
▪ The school was a large, rather forbidding building.
▪ The wood-panelled den looked dark and forbidding.