unfreundlichen

Unfreundlichen is not a standalone word but a declined form of the German adjective unfreundlich, meaning “unfriendly” or “hostile.” It appears in attributive position and is used with German inflection to agree with gender, number, and case of the noun it modifies. The form unfreundlichen occurs in several combinations, for example after definite or indefinite articles in various cases: der unfreundlichen Frau (feminine singular, dative after der), dem unfreundlichen Mann (masculine singular, dative), den unfreundlichen Leuten (plural dative), die unfreundlichen Leute (plural nominative/accusative). It also appears with indefinite articles: einen unfreundlichen Mann (masculine singular, accusative). In the strong inflection (no article) the endings differ, producing forms like unfreundliche Leute (nominative plural) or unfreundliches Verhalten (neuter singular). The adjective is not used predicatively in the form unfreundlichen; predicative position uses unfreundlich (e.g., Sie sind unfreundlich). The word can be nominalized: Die Unfreundlichen (capital U) refers to unfriendly people as a group.

Etymology: unfreundlich derives from un- prefix plus freundlich, from German freund, “friend,” related to English friend, with a sense shift to mean not friendly.

Usage: common in everyday German; declines similarly to other adjectives; not capitalized unless nominalized.

Examples: Die unfreundlichen Kommentare im Forum stören; Ich sah einen unfreundlichen Mann; Den unfreundlichen Blicken der Passanten konnte er sich nicht entziehen. Nominalized example: Die Unfreundlichen hatten die Tür blockiert.