unfriendly

adjective

un·​friend·​ly ˌən-ˈfren(d)-lē How to pronounce unfriendly (audio)
: not friendly: such as
a
: hostile, unsympathetic
an unfriendly nation

Examples of unfriendly in a Sentence

They were very unfriendly to us. the unfriendly looks quickly warmed when we were recognized as long-unseen relatives
Recent Examples on the Web Heading to Kansas City and noisy and unfriendly Arrowhead Stadium, the Chargers face some hard challenges and harder truths. Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023 The result is a breezy peek at the near-term future of humanity in space, and the upshot is that this future is as cold, dark and unfriendly as the cosmos itself. Amy Brady, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023 Christo’s bottle is an unfortunate throwback to the heavy, environmentally unfriendly glass of old. Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023 Still, the scientists detected some patterns: Cats tended to move their ears and whiskers toward one another during friendly interactions and away during unfriendly ones. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023 Just ask Jessica Alba and Miley Cyrus, who would probably rather forget ever meeting such unfriendly spirits. Lydia Price, Peoplemag, 22 Oct. 2023 If public transportation had to cut service for want of fares, the city would grow unfriendly to work. Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023 Filters in the system try to block some unwise suggestions, like those that could be unfriendly to pedestrians. Paresh Dave, WIRED, 10 Oct. 2023 With Esther Wong unfriendly to bands that caused damage to the establishment that bore her name, the two clubs naturally sorted themselves into two camps. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unfriendly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unfriendly was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near unfriendly

Cite this Entry

“Unfriendly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unfriendly. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

unfriendly

adjective
un·​friend·​ly ˌən-ˈfren-(d)lē How to pronounce unfriendly (audio)
1
: not friendly or kind : hostile
an unfriendly greeting
2
: not agreeable
an unfriendly environment
unfriendliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on unfriendly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!