hostile adj

1 characterized by enmity or ill will; "a hostile nation"; "a hostile remark"; "hostile actions" [ant: amicable]

2 not belonging to your own country's forces or those of an ally; "hostile naval and air forces" [ant: friendly]

3 very unfriendly; "a hostile attitude"

4 impossible to bring into friendly accord; "hostile factions"

5 very unfavorable to life or growth; "a hostile climate"; "an uncongenial atmosphere"; "an uncongenial soil"; "the unfriendly environment at high altitudes" [syn: uncongenial, unfriendly]

6 marked by features that oppose constructive treatment or development; "not able to accomplish much in such a hostile environment"

7 used of attempts to buy or take control of a business; "hostile takeover"; "hostile tender offer"

English

Pronunciation

• /hɒstaɪl/

• Rhymes: -ɒstəl

Adjective

1. Belonging or appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence, or a desire to thwart and injure; occupied by an enemy or enemies; inimical; unfriendly

   a hostile force

   hostile intentions

   a hostile country

   hostile to a sudden change

Translations

Noun

1. An enemy; esp., an American Indian in arms against the whites; -- commonly in the plural.

Translations

• ttbc Chinese: 敵方的

Hostility is a form of angry internal rejection or denial in psychology. It is a part of personal construct psychology, developed by Dan Kelman. In everyday speech it is more commonly used as a synonym for anger and aggression.

In psychological terms, Kelman defined hostility as the willful refusal to accept evidence that one's perceptions of the world are wrong. Instead of reconsidering, the hostile person attempts to force or coerce the world to fit their view, even if this is a forlorn hope, and however harmful the cost.

Whilst testing theories against reality is a necessary part of life, and persistence in the face of failure is often a necessary part of invention or discovery, in the case of hostility there is the distinction that the evidence is not assessed and a decision made to try again. Instead the evidence is suppressed or denied, and deleted from awareness - the unfavorable evidence which might suggest a prior belief is flawed is instead ignored and wilfully avoided. Psychologically, it can be said that reality is being held to ransom, and in this sense hostility is a form of psychological extortion - an attempt to force reality to produce the desired feedback, in order that preconceptions become validated.

In this sense, hostility is a response which forms part of discounting of unwanted cognitive dissonance.

External links

• Presidential Address on Hostility to Clinical Division of the APA, by Kelly, 1957

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