Animosity arises when behavior is developed that seeks to voluntarily cause harm to another person.
Animosity is a concept from the Latin animositas used to name antipathy , enmity or resentment felt against someone or something. When a person acts with animosity, he or she is intentionally trying to cause harm.
For example: “It seems to me that the player hit his rival with animosity: it was not a casual move,” “The journalist's animosity against the actor was demonstrated when he spread a rumor about his alleged drug addiction,” “There is “an extensive history of animosity between both peoples.”
Animosity, the opposite of involuntary
Typically, the notion of animosity is used in contrast to involuntary . Suppose the manager of a company assigns the workplaces of his employees and sends one of them to an office without ventilation or air conditioning. The next day, it grants the vacation dates and informs the same employee who was harmed by the distribution of offices that he must take vacation in May, even though he had expressed his desire to do so in January or February. By adding up the different decisions with detrimental effects on his interests, the employee in question could consider that his boss is acting with animosity.
One of the ways to call a case of animosity, especially when you want to file a complaint so that justice can take charge of putting an end to it and compensating the harmed person, is manifest animosity . Enmity directed at someone for no apparent reason or in an excessive and unfair manner can be carried out by various means, some of which are mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Animosity can be linked to bullying.
Harassment and discrimination
It is worth mentioning that these are not always indirect or inconspicuous actions, as may be the case of the boss who assigns an office without ventilation to his employee, since, even if it is a questionable or perhaps illegal decision, he can always claim that he did not have another space available for this person. Sometimes the attacks are very direct and animosity becomes synonymous with harassment .
Some of the most common examples of overt animosity occur in employment relationships where the offender occupies a position of greater importance than the offended party. When the attacks consist of verbal abuse, there is usually constant contempt and an absolute lack of recognition of the merit of others, which often ends in deep frustration on the part of the victim. Especially in positions that require arduous training during the initial stage, some supervisors discredit all the efforts of newcomers, perhaps out of fear of losing their job to someone with more qualities.
Sometimes we speak of racial animosity , to give a name to a series of unnecessary offenses that demonstrate manifest contempt for the race of the person harmed. This is an unfortunate reality that usually has dark-skinned people or people from Eastern countries as victims. It is very common for African Americans, Chinese and Muslims to receive hostile treatment in airports and supermarkets, opposite to that received by Caucasians, even though they all behave in the same way.
Animosity as courage or spirit
Although this use of animosity is the most frequent currently, the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) recognizes another that has fallen into disuse. The idea of animosity, in this sense, was used to name the spirit , the courage or the determination in actions.
According to this usage, expressions such as “Thousands of people approached the square eager to collaborate with the victims” or “Thanks to the animosity of the neighbors, the first aid room was rebuilt in a few days” could be pronounced.