Unfriendly To: Standard Pattern
Unfriendly To: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “unfriendly to” when something is hostile, unsupportive, or likely to cause difficulty for a person, group, or activity.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Context | Use | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| something is hostile or unsupportive toward a target | unfriendly to | Use the directly attested “unfriendly to” construction. |
| adjective modifies a noun directly | unfriendly + noun | No prepositional complement is required. |
| another sense is intended | check context | Do not generalize the attested pattern into an exclusive rule. |
Quick tests
Target test
Are you naming the person, group, activity, or interest that something works against?
If yes: Use “unfriendly to + target.”
If no: If no target is named, the adjective may stand alone or modify a noun.
Caveat: The reviewed source attests “unfriendly to”; it does not establish that every use requires “to.”
Examples
The policy is unfriendly to small businesses.
“To” introduces the group for whom the policy is unsupportive.
The interface is unfriendly to first-time users.
The complement names the affected users.
They received an unfriendly response.
The adjective directly modifies “response,” so no complement is needed.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “unfriendly to” when something is hostile, unsupportive, or likely to cause difficulty for a person, group, or activity.
Style Boundary
Cambridge Business English directly attests “unfriendly to”; this page does not turn that documented pattern into a universal complement rule.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- UNFRIENDLY | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge Business English evidence for unfriendly to somebody or something.