Synonyms of inimical

inimical

adjective

i-ˈni-mi-kəl 

1

as in hostile

marked by opposition or ill will

received an inimical response rather than the anticipated support

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hostile
• negative
• adverse
• antagonistic
• opposed
• unfavorable
• inhospitable
• contentious
• antipathetic
• unfriendly
• adversarial
• adversary
• unpleasant
• conflicting
• unsympathetic
• mortal
• contrary
• jaundiced
• militant
• belligerent
• malicious
• resisting
• icy
• combative
• disagreeable
• frigid
• bellicose
• pugnacious
• distant
• antisocial
• quarrelsome
• truculent
• rude
• clashing
• unkind
• malignant
• disputatious
• disapproving
• argumentative
• malevolent
• vindictive
• biased
• hateful
• malign
• scrappy
• cold
• discourteous
• prejudiced
• spiteful
• inconsiderate
• virulent
• bitter
• impolite
• unmannerly
• cool
• surly
• unsociable
• uncivil
• impertinent
• rancorous
• acrimonious
• opprobrious
• unloving
• despiteful
• ill-mannered
• ill-bred

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sympathetic
• friendly
• hospitable
• social
• pleasant
• civil
• amiable
• warm
• gracious
• cordial
• neighborly
• convivial
• amicable
• companionable
• genial
• gregarious
• sociable
• affable
• kind
• nonhostile
• loving
• affectionate
• sweet
• devoted
• benign
• favorable
• kindly
• nonantagonistic
• good-natured
• nice
• agreeable
• accepting
• comradely
• good-tempered
• welcoming
• understanding
• empathetic
• warmhearted
• approving

2

as in adverse

opposed to one's interests

laws designed to enhance national security that some regard as inimical to cherished freedoms

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hostile
• adverse
• unfavorable
• negative
• detrimental
• harmful
• damaging
• destructive
• prejudicial
• threatening
• unfriendly
• disadvantageous
• bad
• dangerous
• unsympathetic
• counter
• hazardous
• untoward
• risky
• poisonous
• injurious
• deleterious
• malignant
• baneful
• opposing
• pernicious
• offensive
• evil
• lethal
• conflicting
• unsafe
• ruinous
• noxious
• fatal
• troublesome
• baleful
• perilous
• antagonistic
• unhealthy
• hurtful
• murderous
• resistant
• uncongenial
• inhospitable
• ill
• resisting
• intolerant
• defamatory
• uncooperative
• imperilling
• slanderous
• antipathetic
• imperiling
• parlous
• jeopardizing
• scathing
• detractive
• wounding
• competing
• calumnious
• counteracting
• countering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• favorable
• positive
• advantageous
• friendly
• sympathetic
• supportive
• beneficial
• useful
• good
• helpful
• propitious
• harmless
• innocuous
• innocent
• well-disposed
• inoffensive
• nonthreatening
• nondestructive
• benign
• nonfatal
• tolerant
• friendly
• agreeable
• congenial
• hospitable
• amiable
• understanding
• cordial
• nonlethal
• amicable
• complying
• affable
• unresistant
• benignant

Examples of inimical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

No mainstream party can credibly claim to stand against the role of the military in politics, and many are convinced that doing so would be inimical to their political survival. —Sarah Khan, Foreign Affairs, 5 Mar. 2024

Taiwan is dedicated to continuing to embed itself in the West, a process that is inimical to China’s interests. —David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 10 Jan. 2024

Authoritarianism and central planning were thought to be naturally inimical to fresh ideas. —Matt Sheehan, Foreign Affairs, 21 Apr. 2022

The judicial right is not about to jettison its hostility to regulations inimical to its business, financial, and political allies. —Simon Lazarus, The New Republic, 2 Oct. 2023

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