enmity

noun en·mi·ty \ ˈen-mə-tē \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of enmity

plural enmities

: positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will

See enmity defined for English-language learners

See enmity defined for kids

enmity was our Word of the Day on 10/17/2007. Hear the podcast!

Examples of enmity in a Sentence

Bin Laden may no longer be supplying directions and funding, but his ethos of enmity lives on. —Michael Hirsh et al., Newsweek, 10 June 2002
What has earned her the enmity of so many peers is her indiscriminate outspokenness. —Karen Springer, Newsweek, 10 June 1996
Battles over slavery in the territories broke the second party system apart and then shaped a realigned system that emphasized sectional enmity. —Mary Beth Norton et al., A People and a Nation, 1988
There's a long history of enmity between them.
His comments earned him the enmity of his coworkers.
We need to put aside old enmities for the sake of peace.

Recent Examples of enmity from the Web

All presidents are vulnerable to tell-alls by disgruntled former insiders that expose the enmities, gaffes and scandals of their West Wings.

— stephen collinson, CNN, "Comey paints unsparing portrait of Trump in devastating tell-all book," 13 Apr. 2018
His enmity toward the company is apparently based on conversations with his business and real-estate friends, who tell him Amazon is wreaking havoc on their businesses and jeopardizing brick-and-mortar stores.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "Forget Zuckerberg: Trump Is “Obsessed” with Breaking Jeff Bezos," 28 Mar. 2018
The two leaders, who have bonded over a shared enmity of Iran and a desire to make deals, lavished praise on each other.

— vivian nereim, Bloomberg.com, "Saudi Grand Tour to Include Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan," 21 Mar. 2018
Lipinski earned the enmity of women’s groups by refusing to budge from his staunchly antiabortion views.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Illinois primary results show angry bases in both parties demanding more purity," 21 Mar. 2018
Given Dolores Huerta’s place in California Latino history — and her continuing political clout — no one was eager to possibly earn her enmity by challenging her son.

— john wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle, "Huerta out of Central Valley Congress race, another Dem takes his place," 6 Mar. 2018
French-Dutch enmity runs deep, especially on the euro zone; the Dutch want stronger national buffers to protect against crises, whereas Mr Macron is impatient to build supranational bodies and a hefty common budget.

— The Economist, "How the Dutch will take Britain’s place in Europe," 28 Mar. 2018
Speaking to the World Affairs Council at Villanova University in suburban Philadelphia, Kerry recalled the atmosphere of deep distrust surrounding the talks, particularly between the two countries with a long history of enmity.

— carol morello, Washington Post, "John Kerry warns against leaving the Iran deal," 27 Mar. 2018
Now, that enmity is causing... electric clocks across Europe to run six minutes slow.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "How Conflict in the Balkans Is Screwing Up Europe’s Clocks," 8 Mar. 2018

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

Did You Know?

Enmity and its synonyms "hostility," animosity, and animus all indicate deep-seated dislike or ill will. Enmity (which derives from an Anglo-French word meaning "enemy") suggests true hatred, either overt or concealed. Hostility implies strong, open enmity that shows itself in attacks or aggression. Animosity carries the sense of anger, vindictiveness, and sometimes the desire to destroy what one hates. Animus is generally less violent than animosity, but definitely conveys active prejudice or ill will.

Origin and Etymology of enmity

Middle English enmite, from Anglo-French enemité, enemisté, from enemi enemy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

enmity Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of enmity

enmity, hostility, antipathy, antagonism, animosity, rancor, animus mean deep-seated dislike or ill will. enmity suggests positive hatred which may be open or concealed.

- an unspoken enmity

hostility suggests an enmity showing itself in attacks or aggression.

- hostility between the two nations

antipathy and antagonism imply a natural or logical basis for one's hatred or dislike, antipathy suggesting repugnance, a desire to avoid or reject, and antagonism suggesting a clash of temperaments leading readily to hostility.