1
as in vigilantes
one who inflicts punishment in return for an injury or offense
Batman is the Joker's main nemesis and always foils his wicked plots
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in punishments
suffering, loss, or hardship imposed in response to a crime or offense
social ostracism was once society's nemesis for those who defied its sexual mores
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in curses
a source of harm or misfortune
irrationality is the nemesis of democracy, for good government depends upon the wisdom of the electorate
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Recent Examples of nemeses
The Nevermore kids soon encounter their ideal nemeses in a troop of normie paramilitary Boy Scout types who’ve reserved the camp for the same days.
—
Judy Berman, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
Judy Berman, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nemeses
Noun
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Similarly, France’s government faces a confidence vote on Monday after bond vigilantes sent French yields higher on expectations for more gridlock and no progress on reining in deficits.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The Boys, a satirical drama about vigilantes who set out to take down corrupt superheroes, is gearing up for the release of its fifth and final season, expected sometime in 2026 on Prime Video.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Players hold the right to appeal their punishments.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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Kentucky is not the only state with a law allowing for harsher punishments for offenders with felony histories.—
Quinlan Bentley,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As rocks and curses flew from the street, bullets spat from the middle window on the south side of the house.—
Neal Rubin,
Freep.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Seth was given the job to create a list of curses and a list of clean words that Steve could shout.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Three of the last four meetings ended 1-1 after regulation time, including the AFCON semi-final in January 2024, where Nigeria prevailed on penalties.—
Sindiswa Mabunda,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Two pass interference flags skewed those numbers — their nine penalties were not a record under Sirianni, although their six defensive penalties tied for the most — but it was not lost on Sirianni that all Cowboys scoring drives included an Eagles penalty.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The threats are sometimes even leveled against family members.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
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Looking at the depth chart, the Eagles now have three threats coming out of the backfield.—
Kevin McCormick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nemeses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nemeses. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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