as in enemy
the person or entity toward whom you feel the most hatred or hostility
The two politicians were archenemies. The country went to war with its archenemy.
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Recent Examples of archenemy
The revolutionary regime in Iran has long cast the United States as its archenemy, the Great Satan that undermined the country’s independence by backing a military coup in 1953 and the authoritarian excesses of the monarchy that followed.
—
Vali Nasr, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
The Four’s true archenemy, Richards’s scientific nemesis and mirror image Doctor Doom, is absent in First Steps but will appear in a sequel, giving the world’s largest entertainment machine another crack at the depth that often eludes it.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
The Hammer proves to be only a puppet for Superman’s old archenemy, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who controls him, barking out commands like a TV director.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 July 2025
As TVs turned on, the dramatic news unfolded: Israel was attacking its archenemy, Iran.
—Shoshanna Solomon, Christian Science Monitor, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for archenemy
Vali Nasr, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
The Four’s true archenemy, Richards’s scientific nemesis and mirror image Doctor Doom, is absent in First Steps but will appear in a sequel, giving the world’s largest entertainment machine another crack at the depth that often eludes it.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
The Hammer proves to be only a puppet for Superman’s old archenemy, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who controls him, barking out commands like a TV director.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 July 2025
As TVs turned on, the dramatic news unfolded: Israel was attacking its archenemy, Iran.
—Shoshanna Solomon, Christian Science Monitor, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for archenemy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for archenemy
enemy
Noun
-
Under orders from General Erinmore (Colin Firth), the pair must traverse enemy lines to deliver a life-or-death message to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch), halting an attack that would endanger more than 1,000 men.—
Emy LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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The enemy terrorizes and kills our people across the country every day.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Archenemy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/archenemy. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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