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

With new enemies and new social issues to address, Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger seems in for a hell of a second season. — Claire Dodson, Teen Vogue, "Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" Season 2 Throws Fresh Villains in the Mix and New Social Issues to Tackle," 9 Apr. 2019 Inanna Sarkis as Molly Samuels: Tessa's enemy and complete opposite. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Everything You Need to Know About "After" Starring Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin," 1 Apr. 2019 Saturday’s protest came at a sensitive time, with Israel and Hamas, bitter enemies that have fought three wars and dozens of smaller skirmishes, both having a strong interest in keeping things quiet. — Fares Akram, The Seattle Times, "Rockets from Gaza Strip hit Israel; 4 die at border protest," 31 Mar. 2019 He was later written up for a dead cat in a window well—which Mr. Hildenbrand suspects was planted by a neighborhood enemy. — Jim Carlton, WSJ, "The $1 Million HOA Blowup: It Started With the Misplaced Flower Pots," 19 Mar. 2019 Blue Bloods has been featuring familiar faces all season long—some have been former lovers, and others have been fierce enemies. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "'Blue Bloods' Reveals a Friend of Frank Reagan Is Returning and Fans Are Panicking," 15 Mar. 2019 Inès was eventually invited back, but real enemies were not so lucky. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "Hamish Bowles Remembers the Unparalleled Energy, Wicked Wit, and Insatiable Curiosity of Karl Lagerfeld," 20 Feb. 2019 Crush your enemies There’s more Conan this week, as Funcom also gave us our first look at Conan Unconquered, the real-time strategy game in development by Petroglyph (made up of ex-Westwood employees). — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Diablo rises from the dead on GOG, Dead or Alive's $93 season pass, Halo on PC?," 8 Mar. 2019 Other conspiracy theorists claim a more nefarious reasoning for the sinking: J.P Morgan was behind the switch, eager to use an inferior ship to drown his enemies onboard. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The Wild Conspiracy That the Titanic Never Sank," 27 Feb. 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.