enemy

noun

en·e·my | \ ˈe-nə-mē

plural enemies

Definition of enemy

1 : one that is antagonistic to another especially : one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent

2 : something harmful or deadly alcohol was his greatest enemy

3a : a military adversary

b : a hostile unit or force

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about enemy

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Synonyms & Antonyms for enemy

Synonyms

adversary, antagonist, foe, hostile, opponent

Antonyms

amigo, friend

Examples of enemy in a Sentence

He made a lot of enemies during the course of his career. Tradition is the enemy of progress.

Recent Examples on the Web

But, of course, fear has long been a way to motivate people, and back then, the fear sweeping America was that the Soviet Union, our bitterest enemy, was eclipsing us — or worse, converting other nations to Communism. — Michael Granberry, Dallas News, "Dallas author warns about Apollo 11 moon landing hoax theories, but says we can and will go back," 16 July 2019 That was their 18th Italian crown, taking them to within nine of their enemies. — SI.com, "7 Football Managers Who Have Taken Charge of Fierce Rivals," 15 July 2019 Their common enemy is the Phillips Curve, an old economic theory that guides monetary policy and suggests there must be a trade-off between low inflation and low unemployment. — Allison Schrager, Quartz, "The Phillips Curve is dead—long live the Phillips Curve," 12 July 2019 The aircraft was fitted with multispectral television sensors, high-definition infrared sensors, and radar, allowing the 13-man crew to pinpoint enemy forces and engage them with autocannons and a 105-millimeter howitzer. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Air Force's “Spooky” Gunships Have Flown Overseas for the Last Time," 11 July 2019 Contrast that with Shepard the actor: His parachute always opens, his kisses are always reciprocated, his enemy is always slain. — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, "Sam Shepard Saw It All Coming," 11 July 2019 As a nearly global effort against their enemies, the Allied economic campaign helped to undermine German resilience. — Phillip Dehne, Twin Cities, "Phillip Dehne: How World War I transformed economic warfare," 2 July 2019 In his notes from the meeting, Suslov seems vexed: Your novel will serve only to benefit our enemies. . . — Aaron Lake Smith, Harper's magazine, "The Trials of Vasily Grossman," 24 June 2019 Such drones are already used to assassinate the leaders of enemy forces. — The Economist, "Submarine-launched drone platoons will soon be emerging from the sea," 22 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'enemy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.