The Collaborative International Dictionary
Animosity \An`i*mos"i*ty\, n.; pl. Animosities. [F. animosit['e], fr. L. animositas. See Animose, Animate, v. t.]
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Mere spiritedness or courage. [Obs.]
--Skelton.Such as give some proof of animosity, audacity, and execution, those she [the crocodile] loveth.
--Holland. -
Violent hatred leading to active opposition; active enmity; energetic dislike.
--Macaulay.Syn: Enmity; hatred; opposition. -- Animosity, Enmity. Enmity be dormant or concealed; animosity is active enmity, inflamed by collision and mutual injury between opposing parties. The animosities which were continually springing up among the clans in Scotland kept that kingdom in a state of turmoil and bloodshed for successive ages. The animosities which have been engendered among Christian sects have always been the reproach of the church.
Such [writings] as naturally conduce to inflame hatreds and make enmities irreconcilable.
--Spectator.[These] factions . . . never suspended their animosities till they ruined that unhappy government.
--Hume.
Wiktionary
n. (plural of animosity English)
Usage examples of "animosities".
Sometimes the barbarians suspended their domestic animosities, and the relaxed vigilance of the garrisons sometimes gave a passage to their strength or dexterity.
Notwithstanding the recent animosities of a civil war, his death was universally lamented.
The various multitudes of Europe and Asia, exasperated by recent animosities, were overawed by the authority of a single man.
The public danger, which should have reconciled all domestic animosities, displayed the incurable madness of religious faction.
The long moderation of Atticus, the mild usurper of the throne of Chrysostom, suspended the animosities of the Eastern patriarchs.
The public danger, which should have reconciled all domestic animosities, displayed the incurable madness of religious faction.
The violent animosities among the nobility enabled the companies of the Arts to establish this law with facility.
In addition to these evils, it was observed that citizens were more annoyed on account of their wealth, their family connections or private animosities, than for the sake of the party to which they adhered, so that if these prescriptions had been accompanied with bloodshed, they would have resembled those of Octavius and Sylla, though in reality they were not without some stains.
This answer instead of abating, served only to increase the animosities and tumult in Volterra, and absorbed entire attention both in the councils and throughout the city.
In tandem with the slave revolt plotted by Dunmore, Martin had tried to exploit some of the smoldering ethnic animosities in the region—in particular, between a second-generation settlement of Scots Highlanders (who held their lands directly from the Crown) and the more recent Lowland or Scotch-Irish immigrants, many of whom had joined the rebel cause.
In a misguided attempt to stir up old colonial animosities toward the French, the commissioners published a vitriolic attack on America’s new allies and also appealed over the heads of the Congress to the population at large.
England perceived the northern states as being the real inheritors of the original colonies, and any animosities held over from 1776 and 1812 were vented on them.
There were animosities simmering below the surface, animosities which threatened to explode if the Force wasn't handed an assignment soon.
A strong friendship developed, but it was not an association either one cared to parade because of the age-old animosities between the German and French militaries.
If there's one group of space traveling animosities, there may be more.