1
as in hatred
a deep-seated ill will
a lingering hostility between the two neighbors ever since since they had that property-line dispute
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in conflict
hostilities plural
a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups
Both sides agreed to cease all hostilities.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hostility
India and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire mediated by the U.S., ending four days of escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
—
Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 10 May 2025
Escalating hostilities between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan—a close strategic ally of Beijing—may be serving as a testing ground for Chinese defense technology.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 May 2025
Even during Trump’s first term, Congress approved increases in Head Start’s budgets, despite the President’s decades-long hostility toward government aid to the needy.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
So many of the best games under Eddie Howe have come against a backdrop of a mix of raw passion and hostility.
—Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hostility
Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 10 May 2025
Escalating hostilities between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan—a close strategic ally of Beijing—may be serving as a testing ground for Chinese defense technology.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 May 2025
Even during Trump’s first term, Congress approved increases in Head Start’s budgets, despite the President’s decades-long hostility toward government aid to the needy.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
So many of the best games under Eddie Howe have come against a backdrop of a mix of raw passion and hostility.
—Harry De Cosemo, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hostility
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hostility
Noun
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No more tolerance of hatred, no more mercy for criminals.—
Sarah Beth Hensley,
ABC News,
28 May 2025
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Antisemitism, hatred and terrorism must be stopped, lest our civilization fall into the abyss.—
Diane Gensler,
Baltimore Sun,
26 May 2025
Noun
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On April 10, tariffs on nearly all Chinese imports, including fireworks, climbed as high as 145% as a tit-for-tat trade conflict between China and the United States escalated.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
26 May 2025
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Instead of blaming or withdrawing, reconnect after hard moments and show your child that conflict doesn’t have to lead to shame or disconnection.—
Reem Raouda,
CNBC,
25 May 2025
Noun
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The fear this instills in I-Jing — already ignored by her busy mother, nor attended to by her mercurial older sister, I-Ann, who holds a grudge against her mother and rebels by working at a shady betel nut stand — sets off a secrets-unearthing chain of events.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
14 May 2025
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Was Disney actually complicit in Ryan using shareholder revenues to further a personal grudge?—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Trump vowed to end the war in Ukraine on the campaign trail, but so far has seen little to no progress toward that goal since taking office four months ago.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
27 May 2025
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In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated outright that ending the war is not going to happen until Hamas disarms and moves out of Gaza, two conditions the Palestinian terrorist group views as surrender terms.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Noun
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The Democratic contest for an Illinois Senate seat is shaping up as a test of the political power of Gov. JB Pritzker over a primary field of candidates who enter the race with deep animosity for one another and skepticism about the governor’s influence.—
Reid J. Epstein,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
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But as the conflict spirals, with decades of animosity between the countries and powerful nuclear arsenals pointed at one another, the administration has now signaled it would get involved.—
Christopher Shays,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2025
Noun
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In a wide-ranging interview that spans his childhood dyslexia, career-long antagonism of Donald Trump and navigation of today’s contracting movie business, Lee is alternately funny and introspective, worried and grateful, but always unapologetically himself.—
Rebecca Keegan,
HollywoodReporter,
6 May 2025
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What To Know The exchange was a striking moment of open antagonism in the Oval Office, a space typically reserved for formal diplomacy, especially among U.S. allies.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Despite the public enmity between the two, Newsom reached out to the White House in hopes of working together on the creation of a $7.5-billion federal tax incentive to keep more productions in the U.S. Hollywood insiders have wanted a federal tax incentive program all along.—
Samantha Masunaga,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2025
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The stakes of the negotiations couldn't be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Even in the jangling tension of stoppage time, with blocks and ricochets in their team’s penalty area, most Palace fans were silent and biting their fingernails, but the HF continued to beat that drum and sing.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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Though organizers insist Eurovision is an apolitical event, the contest has long been embroiled in the continent’s tensions.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hostility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hostility. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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