Enmity: English Vocabulary List

to hold negative feelings toward a person who has done one wrong in the past

"She holds a grudge still."

"It is unhealthy to hold a grudge against someone for years because it only causes you more pain."

to deliberately keep causing problems for someone or criticizing them

"She has it in for him."

"Ever since I made that mistake, my supervisor has had it in for me and criticizes everything I do."

an attitude that shows one is angry or resentful because of an unfair behavior that they have experienced

"He has a chip on his shoulder."

"He has a chip on his shoulder about growing up poor and is always trying to prove himself."

a strong feeling of bitterness or hatred toward someone because of a past dispute or disagreement

"There is bad blood between them."

"There is bad blood between them and they refuse to speak even at family gatherings."

to have an unsuccessful or unpleasant beginning in a relationship or activity

"We started off on the wrong foot."

"I got off on the wrong foot with my new boss because I was late on the first day."

to intentionally and rudely display an offensive hand gesture, involving raising the middle finger while extending the others downward, as a sign of strong disapproval, annoyance, or disrespect toward someone

"He gave the driver the bird."

"The frustrated motorist gave the slow driver the bird after being cut off unexpectedly."

to hate someone to an extreme degree

"I hate his guts so much."

"She said she hates his guts after he betrayed her trust and lied to everyone at work."

to have a problem with someone or be annoyed with them and want to tell them all about it

"I have a bone to pick."

"I have a bone to pick with you regarding the missing report from last week."

to emotionally harm someone through a significant act of betrayal or hurtful actions

"She put the knife in him."

"After years of friendship, he decided to stick the knife into his best friend by spreading false rumors about him at work."

to have an open conversation with someone to resolve the negative feelings with them that are caused by disagreements or misunderstandings

"We need to clear the air."

"The two colleagues had a difficult conversation to clear the air and resolve their misunderstandings."

to build a good relationship with each other again after having disagreements about something

"Let's bury the hatchet and be friends."

"After years of fighting the two brothers finally decided to bury the hatchet and become friends again."

to argue or fight until a disagreement is resolved

"They will duke it out."

"The two boxers will duke it out in the ring for the world championship title tonight."

to intentionally and rudely display an offensive hand gesture, involving raising the middle finger while extending the others downward, as a sign of strong disapproval, annoyance, or disrespect toward someone

"He gave the bird."

"In a fit of rage, he gave the rude driver the bird and sped away."

to argue or fight until a disagreement is resolved

"They will duke it out."

"The two rivals decided to duke it out on the debate stage to settle their differences."