irrational hostility
- noun
:
hostilidad irracional
- The unpopular war in Vietnam and the conduct of "ugly Americans" abroad were often cited to explain what was perceived as a new and irrational hostility to the United States.
Examples
-
The internal dissonance may explain some of the irrational hostility.
Blog text (9) -
Her irrational hostility made it difficult for people to reason with her during the debate.
-
Even in taking time off, you're an inspiration to push back against the irrational hostility that would seek to overthrow civility.
Blog text (2) -
Since one only sees Hrolfr elsewhere in the story as an occasional ally of Ljotolfr and as a target for Klaufi's irrational hostility, this new lover in Yngvildr's life remains a mysterious character.
Academic text (1998) -
The irrational hostility towards immigrants in the community is concerning and unfounded.
-
The media's portrayal of the event sparked irrational hostility among some viewers without justification.
Synonyms
394
1.9
A very strong dislike that can make a person want to hurt others
147
4.7
Unfriendly or angry actions and feelings toward someone
57
6.1
Strong angry feeling toward a person or group
16
6.9
Hostile feeling between people or groups
Antonyms
How Hostile
394
1.9
16
6.9
147
4.7
11
8.3
- Texting
49
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'extreme antagonism or prejudice that lacks a reasonable basis' is directly and transparently obtained by combining 'irrational' (not guided by clear reasoning) with 'hostility' (an unfriendly, antagonistic attitude). This is a regular adjective + noun composition with no idiomatic shift, and the logic is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the phrase's meaning.
Etymology
Irrational hostility joins irrational, which means 'not reasonable', and hostility, which means 'strong anger or hatred'. Imagine someone shouting at a harmless neighbour because of an old fear — their anger has no clear reason. So, irrational hostility means extreme dislike or anger that comes without a real reason.