hostil
/osˈtil/
The English word 'hostile' translates to Spanish as hostil.
hostil is used to describe someone or something that is antagonistic.
Meaning: antagonistic (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective hostil becomes hostiles in its plural form to agree with plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/osˈtil/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word hostil is an invariable adjective, meaning it does not change to a feminine form. Whether you are describing a man or a woman, you always use hostil.
- The root of hostil is connected to the concept of the 'stranger', which in ancient Latin meant an outsider who was potentially an enemy.
- While hostil describes a person's attitude, Spanish speakers often use the word huraño to describe someone who is hostile specifically because they are shy or antisocial.
Examples in context
- La policía trató de separar las dos pandillas hostiles.The police tried to separate the two hostile gangs.This sentence is useful for seeing how to describe multiple hostil gangs.Tatoeba #5418688 by Omnivoro, translation #5418446 by AlanF_US
- La Unión Soviética adoptó una postura hostil hacia nosotros.The Soviet Union took a hostile attitude toward us.This sentence shows how to describe a hostil attitude or posture.Tatoeba #1163736 by marcelostockle, translation #41257 by shekitten
- Nosotros, ACME S.A., anunciamos por la presente que resistiremos con todas nuestras fuerzas esta OPA hostil.We, ACME Ltd., hereby announce that we will resist with all our strength this hostile takeover.This sentence demonstrates the use of hostil in the context of a takeover.Tatoeba #13268160 by Eremon, translation #328392 by fcbond
- El ambiente del debate se volvió hostilThe debate atmosphere became hostile
- Ambos equipos tuvieron una disputa antagónicaBoth teams had an antagonistic dispute
- El país se encontraba en un estado belicosoThe country was in a bellicose state
- El tono de su mensaje fue claramente hostilThe tone of their message was clearly hostile
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are discussing a difficult meeting with a client.
- SofíaEl cliente estuvo muy hostil durante la reunión.The client was very hostile during the meeting.
- AlejandroSí, Alejandro notó que no quería colaborar.Yes, Alejandro noticed that he didn't want to collaborate.
- Sofía¿Por qué crees que fue tan hostil con nosotros?Why do you think he was so hostile with us?
- AlejandroQuizás no le gustó la propuesta final.Maybe he didn't like the final proposal.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry hostil, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hostil, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
