inimical

English

WOTD – 7 February 2007

Etymology

From Late Latin inimīcālis (“hostile”), from inimīcus (“enemy”) (from in- (“not”) + amīcus (“friend”)) + -ālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɪmɪkəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

inimical (comparative more inimical, superlative most inimical)

1. Harmful in effect.
   • 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 178:

     She doesn’t want to touch it, and indeed every particle of her screams against doing so because it is somehow inimical to her.

2. Unfriendly, hostile.

   Her inimical attitude precludes romance.

Synonyms

• inimic, inimicable, antagonistic

Antonyms

• amicable

Related terms

• inimically
• enemy

Translations

harmful

Basque: kaltegarri (eu) Bulgarian: вреден (bg) (vreden), неблагоприятен (bg) (neblagoprijaten) Dutch: schadelijk (nl) French: nuisible (fr) m or f German: schädlich (de) Greek: επιζήμιος (el) m (epizímios) Kazakh: зиянды (ziändy) Polish: szkodliwy (pl) m Russian: вре́дный (ru) m (vrédnyj) Spanish: nocivo (es), adverso (es) Swedish: skadlig (sv) Ukrainian: шкідли́вий m (škidlývyj)

hostile

Basque: etsai Bulgarian: враждебен (bg) (vraždeben), недоброжелателен (bg) (nedobroželatelen) Chinese: Mandarin: 有敵意的 / 有敌意的 (yǒu díyì de) Dutch: vijandig (nl) Esperanto: malamika French: hostile (fr) m or f German: feindlich (de), feindselig (de), unfreundlich (de) Greek: εχθρικός (el) m (echthrikós) Kazakh: дұшпандық (dūşpandyq) Latin: alienus (la), inimicalis Manx: neuchaarjoil Polish: nieprzyjazny (pl) m, wrogi (pl) m, złowrogi (pl) m Russian: недружелю́бный (ru) m (nedruželjúbnyj), вражде́бный (ru) m (vraždébnyj) Spanish: hostil (es), inimicísimo (superlative, disused), enemigo (es) Swedish: fientlig (sv) Ukrainian: недру́жній m (nedrúžnij), непри́язний m (neprýjaznyj), воро́жий m (voróžyj)

Anagrams

• miliacin