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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

hostile

/ˈhɑstəl/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:41
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What does hostile mean?

adjective

  1. Not friendly; appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence or a desire to thwart and injure.
  2. Aggressive; antagonistic.
  3. Unwilling.
More meanings (2)

adjective

  1. Being or relating to a hostile takeover.

noun

  1. An enemy.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈhɑstəl/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ˈhɑstaɪl/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

There was a reply that the intent fighters did not care for what happened rearward saving that no hostile bayonets appeared there.
Stephen CraneThe Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil WarProject Gutenberg ebook #73
Even the magistrates, hostile as they are to the institution of the jury, have had to recognise the exactness of the assertion.
Gustave Le BonThe crowd : $b A study of the popular mindProject Gutenberg ebook #445
More book examples (3)
The outline of the scheme of civil society is in a high degree hostile to the growth and maturity of human virtue.
William GodwinThoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the AuthorProject Gutenberg ebook #743
Height was always of the utmost importance, as the Italian ships were used for bombing enemy towns and must evade hostile gunfire.
George WhaleBritish Airships, Past, Present, and FutureProject Gutenberg ebook #762
After the community has advanced to settled habits of life, wife-capture from hostile tribes becomes impracticable as a customary source of supply.
Thorstein VeblenThe Theory of the Leisure ClassProject Gutenberg ebook #833