archenemy
Americannoun
-
a chief enemy
-
(often capital) the devil
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of archenemy
Explanation
An archenemy is a main foe or opponent. Batman's archenemy is the Joker, and Peter Pan's is Captain Hook. An archenemy is a hostile adversary. If you're fiercely competitive with your main pickleball rival, you may think of her as your archenemy — even though she's probably a perfectly nice person. Classic archenemies include the evil Cruella deVille, archenemy to the 101 dalmatians, and opposing military generals who vow to defeat each other's armies. The word is derived from the Greek prefix arkh-, "chief," and Latin inimicus, "not friend."
Vocabulary lists containing archenemy
arch, archi (chief, most important, rule)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Very, Very Far North
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Inflation, for central bankers, is the archenemy and the root of all evil.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
Izo’s gang is considered an ally of G-Pep, archenemy of Barbecue’s gang federation, but alliances have been shifting in recent days.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
“My dear brother, my archenemy, how did we come to this?”
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2023
The specificity of his doomsday prophecy should have been a hint that he was fundraising rather than girding for a confrontation with a new archenemy.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2023
But Professor Moriarty—the archenemy of Holmes—was the greatest villain.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Roman blurts this out in the "Prague" episode of "Succession" in Season 1 as he's crashing a secret meeting between Ken and Sandy Furness, one of Logan Roy's archenemies.
From Salon ● May 20, 2023
But nobody would have ever predicted that two archenemies of the past 50 years, the environmentalists and Detroit, would somehow find themselves rallying to the same side.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 27, 2022
Diet guru Susan Powter, comedian Kevin Meaney and the Bee Gees were guests of the animated Space Ghost accompanied by his TV band — led by former archenemies Moltar and Zorak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
Even worse, the movie never reveals what occurred to eventually turn Pan and Hook into archenemies.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 22, 2015
Sure, I love the idea of our family’s archenemies turning into sycophantic suck-ups, but when the strange actually materializes into reality, it definitely leaves you reeling.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
