hostile witness

phrase

: witness in a legal case who supports the opposing side

Examples of hostile witness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the wake of the communications’ release — which also included Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds’ appeals to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for support — insiders told TMZ that Baldoni’s lawyers aimed to call Swift as a hostile witness. — Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2026

Karen Read's defense team put a hostile witness on the stand Monday in the form of a Boston police officer who was working for the Canton Police Department the morning Karen Read and two friends discovered John O'Keefe dead under a pile of snow. — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 3 June 2025

The Atlanta sensation had initially testified last week when he was called as a hostile witness by Doe’s legal team. — Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 2 Apr. 2025

Way started his testimony briefly last week when he was called by the Jane Doe as a hostile witness. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2025

Here, Booth -- an attorney -- employed an effective courtroom tactic of letting a hostile witness discredit himself on the stand. — Bryan Hendricks, arkansasonline.com, 10 Dec. 2023

Murphey would have still refused to testify and become a hostile witness. — Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2023

McConney was granted immunity from prosecution and testified against the companies earlier in the trial, including for part of that testimony as a hostile witness. — Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY, 17 Nov. 2022

Rhymes for hostile witness

• eyewitness
• unfitness
• fitness

Legal Definition

hostile witness

see also:

witness