hostility
Pluralhostilities (some meanings)
- 1The condition or attitude of being hostile; deep-seated opposition or unfriendliness toward a person or thing.
Like a slow-burning resentment that turns every encounter into a standoff.
The committee's hostility toward the proposal was obvious from the first meeting.
Years of hostility between the rival families finally boiled over into a public feud.
Similaranimosity, antagonism, enmity, antipathy, opposition
Oppositefriendliness, goodwill, friendship, amity
- 2A hostile act, especially one of military aggression or open warfare.
Like the first stone thrown that shatters a fragile truce.
A single hostility along the border threatened to undo months of careful negotiation.
Both governments agreed to suspend hostilities for the duration of the ceasefire.
Practice
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Origin
The word comes from Middle English hostilitie, from Old French hostilité, from Latin hostīlitās. It can be seen as "hostile" plus the ending "-ity."