Animosity: meaning, example and synonyms
Animosityn. Strong hostility or ill will, often openly shown.
Example
Decades of rivalry over the same river had bred such animosity between the two farming towns that their councils refused to share a meeting hall.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Synonyms
- hostility, enmity, antagonism, rancor
- Antonyms
- goodwill, friendship, amity, harmony
- Memory tip
- Latin animus = spirit: animosity is a spirit turned hostile.
Animosity is in batch 7. Study it with the rest of the batch, then pass the batch quiz to learn it. No account needed; progress is saved on this device.
Check yourself: Animosity in context
The two research teams had competed for the same grant for a decade, and the ______ between them grew so intense that they refused to cite each other's findings.
Answer: animosity. Refusing to cite rivals reflects strong hostility. Latency (dormancy), tutelage (instruction) and profusion (abundance) don't describe bitter feelings between groups.
Although the treaty formally ended the border war, lingering ______ between the neighboring peoples surfaced in disputes over fishing rights for another generation.
Answer: animosity. Ill will that outlasted the war and fueled later disputes is animosity. Apathy would mean indifference, not disputes; profusion and tutelage make no sense here.