The term may refer to specific violence acts or to general overt or covert hostilities between ethnic groups; compare ethnic conflict.

A merely hostile tone present around an "unconscious" person gives him a merely hostile engram (covert hostility).

The mechanism of propitiation carries with it covert hostility.

"I'm just tired of your covert hostility," she said.

One primary school in particular ran into both open and covert hostility from parents when it encouraged children from a nearby traveller site to enrol.

After a short while it became evident to Stephen that she was on terms of covert hostility with her guest, and that she was afraid of Diana.

Of course they all knew or suspected why Hauptman was here, and their silent support was even more precious after the listless depression and covert hostility those same people had once shown her.

This behavior is based, he says, on "a deep-seated insecurity that leads not just to covert hostility but also to a constant sense of time pressure."

In fact, I suspect a covert hostility that may explain the so-called accidents.

It's my contention that there's covert hostility among the natives.