✅ Hostile means that a person is antagonistic, unfriendly, or inhospitable (My hostile neighbor softened after a while).

✅ Belligerent means that a person is hostile in an aggressive way (The customer was belligerent and refused to leave).

✅ Both of these terms suggest someone who behaves in an unfriendly and often angry or cantankerous way.

✅ Belligerent suggests a level of active aggression or nastiness that is not present in hostile.

✅ A pledge is something that is given as security for the payment of a debt and that will be forfeited if the debt is not paid (The watch served as a pledge to secure the loan).

✅ A surety is a promise given in order to protect against loss or nonpayment of debt (The security deposit served as a surety against any damages).

✅ Both of these terms can refer to collateral or simply to a solemn promise or assurance of something not monetary.

✅ Ecstatic means that someone is full of joy (She was ecstatic when she found out she had won the grand prize).

✅ Elated means that someone feels particularly happy or proud (I was elated when my poem was published in a magazine).

✅ Both of these words suggest that someone is feeling intense or overwhelming happiness.

✅ Ecstatic emphasizes a happiness so great that it’s overpowering or even hysterical (He was so ecstatic that he had to calm down with an herbal tea).

Our “Biggest Smile Wins” bracket will make you elated! Learn which word won!