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
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
The absence of cloud cover that day exposed the Liberators even more to enemy fire.
—
Linda Dudik, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 May 2025
The team cites the cosmic horror vibes of movies like Prometheus and the encroaching threat of intimidating enemies such as the Zerg from StarCraft as key inspirations for the game world.
—David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Nearly 700,000 people were executed in Stalin’s 1937-38 Great Terror amid show trials and purges of his real and perceived enemies.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 23 May 2025
Our mutual enemies know this and target both aspects of US-Israel cooperation.
—Alma Hernandez, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for enemy
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.
Linda Dudik, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 May 2025
The team cites the cosmic horror vibes of movies like Prometheus and the encroaching threat of intimidating enemies such as the Zerg from StarCraft as key inspirations for the game world.
—David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Nearly 700,000 people were executed in Stalin’s 1937-38 Great Terror amid show trials and purges of his real and perceived enemies.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 23 May 2025
Our mutual enemies know this and target both aspects of US-Israel cooperation.
—Alma Hernandez, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for enemy
Cite this Entry
“Enemy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enemy. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
enemy
noun
en·e·my
ˈen-ə-mē 
plural enemies
1
: one that tries to hurt or overthrow or that seeks the failure of another
2
: something that harms
3
a
: a nation with which a country is at war
b
: a military force or a person belonging to such a nation
Etymology
Middle English enemi "enemy," from early French enemi (same meaning), from Latin inimicus (same meaning), from in- "not" and amicus "friend"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share