1
as in vigilante
one who inflicts punishment in return for an injury or offense Batman is the Joker's main nemesis and always foils his wicked plots

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nemesis Wu would like nothing better than to see her nemesis go down in defeat this November. Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 27 Sep. 2025 Many listeners automatically ran to the conclusion that Cardi was speaking about Nicki Minaj, her rap nemesis in recent years. Regina Cho, VIBE.com, 26 Sep. 2025 Lockjaw is Bob's psychotic, longtime nemesis, who is obsessed with finding him and his daughter. Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Sep. 2025 Jones is used to losing to his nemesis opponent. Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nemesis
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nemesis
Noun
  • The Dark Hearts, for whatever reason, weren’t a fan of this vigilante justice.
    Grace Byron, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Directed by the iconic Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another stars DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson, a vigilante and former rebel who is on the run from Penn's Officer Steven Lockjaw.
    Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Forced to become a bloodsucker as part of Bill's punishment for vanquishing another, Deborah Ann Woll's Jessica struggles with her new, flesh-craving lifestyle.
    Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Oct. 2025
  • While Combs' defense team is seeking a 14-month sentence, prosecutors are hoping for a harsher punishment, lobbying the judge to hand down 11 years.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • After coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Red Sox not only broke their World Series curse that year, but went on to defeat the Yankees in the teams' next two postseason battles in 2018 and 2021.
    Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The Grudge Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is an American nurse living in Tokyo who is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse.
    Caitlin White, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Kirk had been building his reputation as an imperious, right-wing avenger on college campuses, debating anyone willing to step up to the microphone to challenge him.
    Michael Luo, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Mangione's image has been merged into memes with Nintendo's Luigi, portraying him as a vigilante avenger of systemic injustice.
    Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Winter's wrath continues with another cold spell predicted for mid-February.
    Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 3 Oct. 2025
  • When Hernán helps Julia and her young daughter, Maribel, navigate treacherous borderlands, their desperate journey triggers the wrath of a ruthless trafficking syndicate.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Collective farms, the bane of Soviet agriculture that had once inspired Fidel’s revolutionary visions, were no longer the norm.
    Joseph J. Gonzalez, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The aforementioned around-town mileage, for example, was one of the biggest banes of the Jeep owner's existence.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 27 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Montgomery has barely been in the big leagues for two months but has already put his name alongside a couple of franchise icons (and another hard-core punisher of baseballs).
    Phil Rogers, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Ahead of Game 2, with his college career on the brink and the Terriers down another key forward in Tomlinson due to a Game 1 penalty, Sullivan approached Parker.
    Peter Baugh, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Following their 7-0 preseason loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday — a game which featured 322 penalty minutes, 65 total penalties, and 16 player ejections — the Lightning were fined $100,000 and head coach Jon Cooper fined $25,000.
    Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Nemesis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nemesis. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on nemesis

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!