hos ‧ tile /ˈhɒstaɪl $ ˈhɑːstl, ˈhɑːstaɪl/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin hostilis , from hostis 'stranger, enemy' ]
1 . angry and deliberately unfriendly towards someone, and ready to argue with them:
Southampton fans gave their former coach a hostile reception.
Carr wouldn’t meet Feng’s stare, which was openly hostile.
his hostile attitude
hostile to/towards
The boy feels hostile towards his father.
2 . opposing a plan or idea very strongly
hostile to/towards
Senator Lydon was hostile to our proposals.
3 . belonging to an enemy:
hostile territory
4 . used to describe conditions that are difficult to live in, or that make it difficult to achieve something
hostile environment/climate/terrain etc
a guide to surviving in even the most hostile terrain
Sales increased last year despite the hostile economic environment.
5 . hostile takeover/bid a situation in which a company tries to buy another company that does not want to be bought
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THESAURUS
■ person/voice/behaviour
▪ unfriendly/not friendly behaving towards someone in a way that shows you are not interested in them or are not ready to talk to them or help them:
The hotel staff were unfriendly and unhelpful.
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an unfriendly tone of voice
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They didn't seem very friendly to strangers.
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She gave him an unfriendly glance.
▪ hostile very unfriendly, and ready to argue or fight:
He was openly hostile towards me when I arrived.
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A hostile crowd gathered oustide the US embassy.
▪ cold behaving towards other people as if you do not like them or care about them:
He gave her a cold stare.
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a cold voice
▪ frosty unfriendly, especially because you are angry with someone:
When she spoke, her tone was frosty.
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He got a frosty reception from his wife when he finally returned home (=she was not very friendly towards him) .
▪ aloof [not before noun] not wanting to talk to other people or spend time with them, especially because you think you are better than them:
Some politicians are criticized for being too aloof.
▪ antagonistic unfriendly and always trying to start arguments with someone:
Why are Kate and John so antagonistic towards each other?
▪ antisocial not interested in meeting other people or forming friendly relationships with them:
Sorry if I'm being antisocial, but I need to get my work done.
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He was an antisocial loner with no friends.