frenemy

noun

fren·​e·​my ˈfre-nə-mē 

plural frenemies

informal : a person who is or pretends to be a friend but who is also in some ways an enemy or rival

In Hollywood, everyone has lots of frenemies, usually people who are doing comparatively well at any given moment.

—Pete Clark

In an awkward awards ceremony, Phil [Mickelson] and Tiger [Woods] stood on the 18th green together as frenemies. Phil held up the crystal trophy for the tournament title, while Tiger squirreled away a $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup …

—Selena Roberts

Examples of frenemy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, Mahomes not having to see his frenemy twice a year would certainly make life a little easier. —Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2026

Rachel Sennott enjoyably cameos as a version of herself who’s a Charli frenemy. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026

Complicating matters further, Charles has bequeathed his school to his frenemy Magneto. —Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Jan. 2026

Starring alongside Hilty is three-time Tony nominee Jennifer Simard, who plays Madeline's frenemy Helen Sharp. —Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

blend of friend entry 1 and enemy

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frenemy

• enemy

Kids Definition

frenemy

noun

fren·​e·​my

ˈfren-ə-mē

plural frenemies

informal : someone who pretends to be a friend but is really an enemy