inimical
6 antonyms for inimical — opposites grouped by meaning.
Adjective — Tending to harm something or make it impossible; working against it.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. adjective
Tending to harm something or make it impossible; working against it.
“Long hours are inimical to good judgement.”
Opposites
2. adjective
Unfriendly or hostile in attitude.
“He faced an inimical crowd from the first minute.”
Opposites
Antonyms
How to use inimical
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
inimical to democracy
inimical to growth
inimical forces
Formal and rather bookish; common in legal, political and academic prose.
Etymology
From Late Latin inimicalis, from Latin inimicus 'enemy', formed from in- 'not' and amicus 'friend'.
Full origin of inimical →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between inimical and inimitable?
They are unrelated despite looking alike. Inimical means harmful or hostile; inimitable means so good or distinctive that nobody can copy it. Inimitable is a compliment, inimical never is.
How do you use inimical in a sentence?
The harm sense almost always takes 'to': something is inimical to something else. The hostility sense can stand alone before a noun, as in 'an inimical stare'.
