frenemy

noun

fren·e·my | \ ˈfre-nə-mē

plural frenemies

Definition of frenemy

informal : a person who is or pretends to be a friend but who is also in some ways an enemy or rival In Hollywood, everyone has lots of frenemies, usually people who are doing comparatively well at any given moment.— Pete Clark In an awkward awards ceremony, Phil [Mickelson] and Tiger [Woods] stood on the 18th green together as frenemies. Phil held up the crystal trophy for the tournament title, while Tiger squirreled away a $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup …— Selena Roberts

Examples of frenemy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Democratic Party’s biggest names have come to his aid, including fellow Californian and former frenemy Vice President Kamala Harris. — Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2021 The ultimate frenemy, Amazon AMZN -0.7% has added another major British supermarket to its roster. — Natalie Berg, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2021 That frenemy is Wanda Maximoff, whose close study of the dark arts at the end of WandaVision may put her in direct conflict with her fellow sorcerer and former comrade. — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 26 Aug. 2021 Maggie Q spent days working on an intricate fight scene with her character's rival frenemy with benefits, played by Keaton, 69, more than 25 years her senior. — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2021 Doubly angered, Tommy storms away from his clan as well as his frenemy. — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 24 July 2021 Over the course of the season, Devi’s relationship with Aneesa goes from threat to frenemy to friend. — NBC News, 15 July 2021 It's been four years since The Fate of the Furious trapped Charlize Theron on an evil airplane, and two years since the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw let two middle-aged non-comedians riff about impregnating a frenemy's little sister, ho ho ho. — Darren Franich, EW.com, 22 June 2021 The duo’s longstanding frenemy status (and the fact that both parties were present in the same room) made the night electric, especially in the middle of the battle when the cops paid a visit. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 June 2021

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