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unfriendly

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unfriendly¹

  • /ʌnˈfɹɛn(d)li/

Where it comes from

From Middle English unfrendly, unfrendli, unfrendely, from Old English *unfrēondlīċ (suggested by derivative unfrēondlīċe (“in an unfriendly manner; unfriendly”, adverb)), equivalent to un- + friendly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uunfrüntelk, uunfjuntelk (“unfriendly”), West Frisian ûnfreonlik (“unfriendly”), Dutch onvriendelijk (“unfriendly”), German Low German unfrünnelk (“unfriendly”), German unfreundlich (“unfriendly”), Faroese ófryntligur (“unfriendly”), Icelandic ófrýnilegur (“ugly; disturbing”).

adjective unfriendlier · more unfriendly · unfriendliest · most unfriendly

  1. Not friendly; hostile; mean. Shrekkies will notice that the musical is going off-piste from the film right from the start when the curtain rises to reveal a seven-year-old Shrek turfed out into an unfriendly world by his parents.

    Similar: dour

  2. Unfavourable.

    Similar: chilly

Opposite: friendly

noun unfriendlies

  1. An enemy. Sweep the valley compound and eliminate any unfriendlies you encounter.

unfriendly²

  • /ʌnˈfɹɛn(d)li/

Where it comes from

From Middle English unfrendli, from Old English unfrēondlīċe (“in an unfriendly manner”), equivalent to unfriend + -ly.

adverb unfriendlier · more unfriendly · unfriendliest · most unfriendly

  1. In an unkind or unfriendly manner; not as a friend.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: uncongenial, inhospitable, unneighbourly, unneighborly, uncordial, inimical, hostile, beetle-browed, scowling, cool, chilly, inappropriate, improper, unfavorable, untoward, inadequate

adjective

Opposite: friendly

Translations

Every language

adj not friendly; hostile

Españolantipático, desagradable, hostil
한국어불친절하다 bulchinjeolhada
日本語不親切な fushinsetsu na
中文不友好 bùyǒuhǎo
हिन्दीरूखा rūkhā
Portuguêshostil, antipático
Françaisinamical
Deutschunfreundlich
Românăneprietenos, ostil
Русскийнедружелю́бный nedruželjúbnyj, недру́жественный nedrúžestvennyj

adj unfavorable

Españoldesfavorable, negativo

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Cite this
MLA

"unfriendly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/unfriendly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

unfriendly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/unfriendly

Chicago

"unfriendly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/unfriendly.

BibTeX
@misc{unfriendly_2026,
  title = {unfriendly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/unfriendly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}