Hostile
Mean
Mean adjective - Having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Usage example: a mean, embittered old woman who wanted company for her misery
Hostile is a synonym for mean in bitter topic. Sometimes you can use "Hostile" instead an adjective "Mean", if it concerns topics such as malicious, embittered.
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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Beware the Nice Ones: Tweety Bird is surprisingly hostile and mean when not "on set".
Source: Film / Space Jam -
Tweety was hostile and mean in his earliest shorts.
Source: Film / Space Jam - When they say "hostile takeover", they mean "hostile takeover".
Source: Corporate Warfare
Cite this Source
Mean and Hostile. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hostile/mean
Hostile & Mean. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hostile/mean>.
Mean or Hostile. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hostile/mean.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hostile" and "mean" have occurred on timeline