1
as in enemies
one that is hostile toward another
are you friend or foe?
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opponents
one that takes a position opposite another in a competition or conflict
this Saturday our team will go up against our longtime foes in a game that will determine the champion of the conference
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of foes
So Florida divided up the region between coaches, struggling to maintain consistency against a growing number of more aggressive foes.
—
Noah White, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The fans reveled in the rally, the thrashing of Goliath, the awareness that this World Series pitted two foes who belonged on the same field.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Children’s Health Defense, the organization Kennedy built into one of the fiercest foes of childhood vaccines, took interest in the Idaho bill early on.
—Audrey Dutton, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
The politicization of such matters has only served to muddy the waters, as those affected by controversy argue that political foes have often abandoned nuance in favor of weaponizing scandals to further a partisan agenda.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2025
The mayor would love to see one of her foes, at-large incumbent Erin Murphy, lose her seat but that may be a tough ask.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
Children’s Health Defense, the organization Kennedy built into one of the fiercest foes of childhood vaccines, took interest in the Idaho bill early on.
—Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 20 Oct. 2025
The complexity of the mechanics becomes a little more apparent as tougher foes begin blocking and parrying more astutely, forcing the player’s hand to put in a little more effort in their decision making.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2025
These Dodgers have outscored their postseason foes 46-28 – and that’s with an 8-2 loss in Game 3 of the Division Series against Philadelphia, or the margin would be even more lopsided.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 19 Oct. 2025
Noah White, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The fans reveled in the rally, the thrashing of Goliath, the awareness that this World Series pitted two foes who belonged on the same field.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Children’s Health Defense, the organization Kennedy built into one of the fiercest foes of childhood vaccines, took interest in the Idaho bill early on.
—Audrey Dutton, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
The politicization of such matters has only served to muddy the waters, as those affected by controversy argue that political foes have often abandoned nuance in favor of weaponizing scandals to further a partisan agenda.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2025
The mayor would love to see one of her foes, at-large incumbent Erin Murphy, lose her seat but that may be a tough ask.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
Children’s Health Defense, the organization Kennedy built into one of the fiercest foes of childhood vaccines, took interest in the Idaho bill early on.
—Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 20 Oct. 2025
The complexity of the mechanics becomes a little more apparent as tougher foes begin blocking and parrying more astutely, forcing the player’s hand to put in a little more effort in their decision making.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2025
These Dodgers have outscored their postseason foes 46-28 – and that’s with an 8-2 loss in Game 3 of the Division Series against Philadelphia, or the margin would be even more lopsided.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 19 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foes
Noun
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Lower courts have ruled Trump overstepped his authority under a law historically used for imposing economic sanctions and other penalties on foreign enemies.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025
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Price, a former Navy man, is conveying the exhaustion of Black sailors and soldiers in a military that continues to enshrine—most recently, in the names of Army bases—its Confederate enemies.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Welbeck, who has four goals in his last three games, is an expert at dragging opponents out of position.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Those moves all paid off in the form of a dominant regular season and a playoffs which saw Oklahoma City race past most of its opponents, eventually beating the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals in seven games to secure the franchise’s first title since moving from Seattle in 2008.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The company behind the iconic Roomba robotic vacuum has been watching its stock progressively slide since 2021 as its early success was overrun by stiff competition from Chinese rivals Anker, Ecovacs, and Roborock.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
28 Oct. 2025
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Novo Nordisk is developing a new obesity drug that clinical trials suggest rivals Zepbound in effectiveness, and Eli Lilly is testing a drug that could end up being even more effective than the current products on the market.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foes. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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