enemy

noun en·e·my \ ˈe-nə-mē \

|Updated on: 18 Aug 2018

Examples: enemy in a Sentence

Definition of enemy

plural enemies

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

3 a : a military adversary

b : a hostile unit or force

See enemy defined for English-language learners

See enemy defined for kids

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 of enemy from the Web

A half an hour into the GOP debate, the candidates were still discussing their degree of support for Trump’s policies and his statements that the media are the enemy of the American people.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "New York House Races Headline June 26 State Primaries," 26 June 2018
The only real enemies with regard to antibiotic resistance are the bugs themselves.

— jon cohen, Science | AAAS, "An outspoken epidemiologist becomes U.S. science envoy," 12 June 2018
That eventually led to him being charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place — crimes that carried a maximum punishment of life in prison.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Fort Bragg general approves sentence for Bowe Bergdahl," 6 June 2018
The former enemies ended up wasted, hanging off of each other and throwing their heads back with laughter.

— aurelie corinthios, PEOPLE.com, "Jersey Shore Cast Squashes Their Beef with Angelina — But She's Still Not Part of the 'Family'," 31 May 2018
McCain is an enemy -- for his deep and outspoken skepticism about Trump's candidacy and presidency.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "The Trump administration is trying to turn the McCain death joke into a 'leak' scandal," 14 May 2018
BlacKkKlansman is a neat little movie, goofy at times but always on the right side of things, reducing the enemy to combatable anachronisms.

— richard lawson, HWD, "In Spike Lee’s Invigorating BlacKkKlansman, the Real Joke Is on Us," 14 May 2018
Modern prison writing came into its own during the Reformation, when large numbers of educated people were incarcerated as being enemies of the state because of their religious views.

— amanda foreman, WSJ, "Literature Behind Bars," 12 July 2018
It was translated into 22 languages and the Royal Air Force dropped summaries on Allied troops and behind enemy lines.

— The Economist, "The welfare state needs updating," 12 July 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of enemy

Middle English enemi, from Anglo-French, from Latin inimicus, from in- ¹in- + amicus friend — more at amiable

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

enemy Synonyms

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

ENEMY Defined for English Language Learners

enemy

noun

Definition of enemy for English Language Learners

: someone who hates another : someone who attacks or tries to harm another
: something that harms or threatens someone or something
: a group of people (such as a nation) against whom another group is fighting a war