enmity

noun en·mi·ty \ ˈen-mə-tē \

|Updated on: 6 Aug 2018

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Examples: enmity in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of enmity

plural enmities

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

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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

The social bumps up against the psychological; personal enmity meets political tectonics.

— josephine livingstone, The New Republic, "Sacred Games Reinvents the Police Procedural," 12 July 2018
In the early 1960s, there was a bitter rift because of personal enmity between President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who balked at U.S. pressure to be more aggressive in Cold War maneuverings.

— rob gillies and david crary, Houston Chronicle, "Canada-US relations at a low after Trudeau-Trump trade tiff," 17 June 2018
The brewing enmity between Fox’s generally left-leaning entertainment talent and Fox News could create even further fallout during what is already an uncertain time at the studio.

— john koblin, New York Times, "Criticism of Fox News Comes From Within Murdoch Empire," 19 June 2018
In the early 1960s, there was a bitter rift because of personal enmity between President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who balked at U.S. pressure to be more aggressive in Cold War maneuverings.

— rob gillies and david crary, Houston Chronicle, "Canada-US relations at a low after Trudeau-Trump trade tiff," 17 June 2018
In the early 1960s, there was a bitter rift because of personal enmity between President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who balked at U.S. pressure to be more aggressive in Cold War maneuverings.

— Washington Post, "Canada-US relations at a low after Trudeau-Trump trade tiff," 14 June 2018
Despite signs of outreach with Israel and a shared enmity for Iran, Bahrain condemned the targeting of Palestinian civilians on Monday, and reaffirmed support for an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

— aya batrawy and jon gambrell, The Christian Science Monitor, "Gulf Arab states support Palestinians, but also form subtle ties to Israel," 16 May 2018
Brash, impulsive leaders who only a few months ago taunted each other across a nuclear abyss, Trump and Kim had set aside their threats in a gamble that for now, at least, personal diplomacy could counteract decades of enmity and distrust.

— mark landler, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump, Kim Jong Un sign a joint declaration at summit," 11 June 2018
Yet because the Democrats are associated with the immigrant communities Mr Trump attacked, his tactic also turbocharged partisan enmity, which helped mollify them.

— The Economist, "A blot against America," 23 June 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

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First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined above

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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.