as in foes
one that is hostile toward another
a beloved minister with no known enemies
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Recent Examples of enemies
These flowers support insects with small mouthparts, including parasitoid wasps, small native bees, lacewings, and syrphid flies – all excellent natural enemies of cucumber pests and a few that also provide pollination.
—
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2026
Bondi's replacement will have to answer for much bigger changes at the traditionally apolitical Justice Department, which for the first time in recent history has actively pursued investigations into the president's political enemies under Bondi's leadership.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
The use of shock waves, or blast overpressure (BOP), kills or disables enemies with the force of the explosion, vaporizing the weapon’s plastic outer shell.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
Quarter is the technical term for sparing the lives of enemies who have surrendered.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
Courtney Love and Billy Corgan have been friends, enemies, lovers, and everything in between.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
People are reduced to abstractions or enemies.
—Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
The New York Times bestselling author known for her young adult romantasy series Lightlark and her enemies-to-lovers romance Summer in the City has just debuted her first-ever adult romantasy novel Starside, and already has some thoughts on adapting it for the screen.
—Katie Hill, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
Doom has corridors, enemies, three-dimensional navigation and a lot of things that are trying to kill you.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2026
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2026
Bondi's replacement will have to answer for much bigger changes at the traditionally apolitical Justice Department, which for the first time in recent history has actively pursued investigations into the president's political enemies under Bondi's leadership.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
The use of shock waves, or blast overpressure (BOP), kills or disables enemies with the force of the explosion, vaporizing the weapon’s plastic outer shell.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
Quarter is the technical term for sparing the lives of enemies who have surrendered.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
Courtney Love and Billy Corgan have been friends, enemies, lovers, and everything in between.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
People are reduced to abstractions or enemies.
—Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
The New York Times bestselling author known for her young adult romantasy series Lightlark and her enemies-to-lovers romance Summer in the City has just debuted her first-ever adult romantasy novel Starside, and already has some thoughts on adapting it for the screen.
—Katie Hill, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
Doom has corridors, enemies, three-dimensional navigation and a lot of things that are trying to kill you.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enemies
Noun
-
In the horror sequel, Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Lail return to face new foes as well the old murderous animatronic animals of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The second and final meeting of the regular season between the cross-conference foes at American Airlines Center went a bit differently Friday night.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Players schlep downstairs, wearing slippers or sandals, and walk through the game plan and what to expect from their opponents.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
-
His opponents have strong cases, too.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Enemies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enemies. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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