Noun

(en noun)

Strong aversion; intense dislike; hateful regard; an affection of the mind awakened by something regarded as unpleasant, harmful or evil.

* 1748 . David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 34.

the very circumstance which renders it so innocent is what chiefly exposes it to the public hatred

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=8 citation , passage=It was a casual sneer, obviously one of a long line. There was hatred behind it, but of a quiet, chronic type, nothing new or unduly virulent, and he was taken aback by the flicker of amazed incredulity that passed over the younger man's ravaged face.}}

* (David Crystal)

Fears and hatreds pay no attention to facts.

Noun

(uncountable) The state of being hostile.

*, II.12:

There is no hostilitie so excellent, as that which is absolutely Christian.

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 1, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport

, title= Everton 0-2 Liverpool , passage=But with Goodison Park openly directing its full hostility towards Atkinson, Liverpool went ahead when Carroll turned in his first Premier League goal of the season after 70 minutes.}}

* 2013 September 28, (Kenan Malik), " London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):

The polarization of wealth and the polarization of attitudes to diversity are not unrelated. A key reason for popular hostility to immigrants is that to many people, particularly within working-class communities, immigration has become a symbol of unacceptable change.

(countable) A hostile action, especially a military action. See hostilities for specific plural definition.