English pronunciation · Words Starting with H
Hostile Pronunciation
Hostile is pronounced HAH-stuhl, IPA /ˈhɑstəl/.
HAH-stuhl
US /ˈhɑstəl/ · UK /ˈhɒstaɪl/
Syllables: HAH · stuhl (2 syllables, stress on syllable 1)
adjective: Unfriendly and opposed to someone or something.
Audio for the American and British pronunciations plays on this page with JavaScript enabled.
Two Ways to Say Hostile
The pronunciation changes with the meaning or the part of speech. The form above is the most common; the others are:
- the long ending, hah-STYL: /hɑˈstaɪl/ (hah-STYL)
Hostile in a Sentence
- The committee was hostile to the whole plan.
- Reindeer survive in conditions hostile to almost everything else.
- He met a hostile crowd at the gate.
Common Mispronunciations of Hostile
Not HOH-styl
The opening vowel is short, the o of hospital, which stands next to this word in most dictionaries.
Not HAH-sty-luh
Two beats carry the whole word, since the e on the end is silent in every reading of it.
Tip: Americans flatten the ending to stuhl, which brings hostile close to hostel, while British speakers keep a long eye there and the two words stay apart.
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