archenemy

noun

arch·​en·​e·​my (ˌ)ärch-ˈe-nə-mē How to pronounce archenemy (audio)
plural archenemies
: a principal enemy

Examples of archenemy in a Sentence

The two politicians were archenemies. The country went to war with its archenemy.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The new investigation reveals that a splinter group within the Galactic Federation has created a clone of Samus' archenemy Ridley, as well as ice-resistant Metroids. Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 1 May 2025 Why Ukrainians would get involved in a sabotage campaign on behalf of their country’s archenemy has raised troubling questions for Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Tomas Dapkus, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025 How to watch the 2025 Copa del Rey final Venue: Estadio La Cartuja — Seville, Spain Time: 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday TV: ESPN Deportes Streaming: Fubo (try for free) Barça has a prime opportunity to defeat its archenemy for the third time this season. Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2025 The most well known is the story of Amalek, a nomadic people identified in the Book of Deuteronomy as the archenemy of the Israelites. Tamir Sorek, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for archenemy

Word History

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of archenemy was in 1550

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Archenemy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archenemy. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

archenemy

noun
arch·​en·​e·​my (ˈ)ärch-ˈen-ə-mē How to pronounce archenemy (audio)
: a principal enemy

More from Merriam-Webster on archenemy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!