enemy

noun en·e·my \ ˈe-nə-mē \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 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

The identity of the enemy is no mere tactical detail.

— elizabeth goitein, Fortune, "Congress Is About to Decide Whether to Give Trump More or Less Power to Expand Wars," 4 June 2018
Last month, the bitter enemies openly clashed when Iran fired dozens of rockets at Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, and Israel responded by striking several Iranian targets in Syria.

— caron creighton, The Seattle Times, "Netanyahu heads to Europe with Iran on his mind," 3 June 2018
After all, the show implied, enemies in a war — in this case, the Cold War — are all human beings.

— matthew gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, "The ever-improving art of the perfect ending," 31 May 2018
Amaya was gunned down immediately by AK-47 gunfire from the enemy and killed.

— frank vaisvilas, Daily Southtown, "Crete marks Memorial Day with service, parade," 28 May 2018
But the enemy had already occupied the ridge and opened fire on Slabinski's helicopter.

— david martin, CBS News, ""Not a day goes by that I don't think of it": Medal of Honor recipient on Afghan battle," 24 May 2018
Buy Photo On the airwaves and the internet, Republican Paul Mango makes his case against his enemies in ways ranging from playful to absurd.

— julian routh, Philly.com, "Paul Mango, GOP candidate for Pa. governor, runs to the right," 7 May 2018
His reported first public statement may indicate that his former enemies in the coalition are intending to unleash him against the Houthis.

— Houston Chronicle, "Missouri City, Houston men caught up in alleged espionage scheme involving Chinese company," 27 Apr. 2018
After all, the big enemy for Cruz in this campaign is complacency, the sense among his fellow Republicans that his re-election will be as automatic as every other post-1994 statewide race for the GOP.

— gilbert garcia, San Antonio Express-News, "New poll helps both O’Rourke and Cruz," 19 Apr. 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

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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