inimical

adjective in·im·i·cal \ i-ˈni-mi-kəl \

Definition of inimical

1 :being adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence

forces inimical to democracy

2 a :having the disposition of an enemy :hostile

inimical factions

b :reflecting or indicating hostility :unfriendly

his father's inimical glare

—

inimically

play \i-ˈni-mi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See inimical defined for English-language learners

See inimical defined for kids

inimical was our Word of the Day on 02/06/2015. Hear the podcast!

Examples of inimical in a Sentence

received an inimical response rather than the anticipated support
laws designed to enhance national security that some regard as inimical to cherished freedoms

Recent Examples of inimical from the Web

Many will disagree with these values, but nothing about them is obviously inimical to the Bill of Rights.

— t.a. frank, The Hive, "Decoding Stephen Miller’s Nationalist Mind," 6 Feb. 2017
President Trump’s recent Executive Order is injurious to our work and inimical to our values.

— michael smerconish, Orange County Register, "Trump travel ban comes to college campuses," 5 Feb. 2017
But others, like a tendency toward violence and verbal abuse, were inimical to family life.

— jennifer senior, New York Times, "Review: In ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ a Tough Love Analysis of the Poor Who Back Trump," 10 Aug. 2016
These measures are both ineffective and deeply inimical to free expression due to the high risks of over-blocking.

— bruce sterling, WIRED, "Latest EDRIgram," 26 Oct. 2013

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inimical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

In inimical, one finds both a friend and an enemy. The word descends from Latin inimicus, which combines amicus, meaning "friend," with the negative prefix in-, meaning "not." In current English, inimical rarely describes a person, however. Instead, it is generally used to describe forces, concepts, or situations that are in some way harmful or hostile. For example, high inflation may be called inimical to economic growth. Inimicus is also an ancestor of enemy, whereas amicus gave us the much more congenial amicable (meaning "friendly" or "peaceful") and amiable (meaning "agreeable" or "friendly").