enemy

[ en-uh-mee ]

/ ˈɛn ə mi /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enemy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural en·e·mies.

a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent.

an armed foe; an opposing military force: The army attacked the enemy at dawn.

a hostile nation or state.

a citizen of such a state.

enemies, persons, nations, etc., that are hostile to one another: Let's make up and stop being enemies.

something harmful or prejudicial: His unbridled ambition is his worst enemy.

the Enemy, the Devil; Satan.

adjective

belonging to a hostile power or to any of its nationals: enemy property.

Obsolete. inimical; ill-disposed.

Nearby words

Origin of enemy

1250–1300; Middle English enemi < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin inimicus unfriendly, equivalent to in- in-³ + amicus friendly, friend; see amicable

SYNONYMS FOR enemy

1. antagonist. Enemy, foe refer to a dangerous public or personal adversary. Enemy emphasizes the idea of hostility: to overcome the enemy; a bitter enemy. Foe, a more literary word, may be used interchangeably with enemy, but emphasizes somewhat more the danger to be feared from such a one: deadly foe; arch foe of humankind ( the Devil ).

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enemy ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR enemy

1. friend. 2. ally.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR enemy ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsnon·en·e·my, noun, plural non·en·e·mies.

Usage note

See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for enemy

It was followed by several told-you-so articles with titles like “Have No Illusion: Islam Is the Enemy.”
Europe’s Islam Haters Say We Told You So|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In “Steal This Episode,” the filmmaker denounces Homer Simpson as an “enemy of art.”
Here’s the Lost Judd Apatow ‘Simpsons’ Episode, Penned by Judd Apatow|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Do not use complaints, courts and lawyers to beat and to silence the enemy,” the NOA activists wrote.
Italy’s Terror on the Tracks|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the event, the enemy did plenty—far more than SHAEF, or for that matter the German high command, imagined possible.
Hitler’s Hail Mary|James A. Warren|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

That means it could take several missile shots to kill an enemy fighter, even for an advanced stealth aircraft like the Raptor.
Pentagon Worries That Russia Can Now Outshoot U.S. Stealth Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The enemy immediately withdrew, and never appeared again in 1917 in this neighbourhood.
The Crisis of the Naval War|John Rushworth Jellicoe
Once more it was shown how weak an arm is artillery against an enemy who lies in shelter.
The Great Boer War|Arthur Conan Doyle
The cardinal wanted a benefice for one of his followers, and the Pope wished to get his son's enemy once more into his power.
Renaissance in Italy Vol. 3|John Addington Symonds
On the 6th the enemy occupied Hagerstown, moving a strong column toward Frederick City.
Campaign of the Fourteenth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers|J. Newton Terrill
Captain Langdon being of the same opinion, the signal was thrown out to make all sail to close the enemy.
How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for enemy

enemy

/ (ˈɛnəmɪ) /

noun plural -mies

a person hostile or opposed to a policy, cause, person, or group, esp one who actively tries to do damage; opponent

an armed adversary; opposing military force
(as modifier)enemy aircraft

a hostile nation or people
(as modifier)an enemy alien

something that harms or opposes; adversarycourage is the enemy of failure

Related formsRelated adjective: inimical

Word Origin for enemy

C13: from Old French enemi, from Latin inimīcus hostile, from in- 1 + amīcus friend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for enemy

enemy

early 13c., from Old French enemi (12c.), earlier inimi (9c.) "enemy, adversary, foe, demon, the Devil," from Latin inimicus "hostile, unfriendly; an enemy" (source of Italian nemico, Catalan enamic, Spanish enemigo, Portuguese inimigo), from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + amicus "friend" related to amare "to love" (see Amy).

Most words for "personal enemy" cover also "enemy in war," but certain languages have special terms for the latter, e.g. Greek polemioi (distinct from ekhthroi), Latin hostis, originally "stranger" (distinct from inimicus), Russian neprijatel' (distinct from vrag).

Russian vrag (Old Church Slavonic vragu) is cognate with Lithuanian vargas "misery" (see urge), and probably is related to Proto-Germanic *wargoz, source of Old Norse vargr "outlaw," hence "wolf;" Icelandic vargur "fox," Old English wearg "criminal, felon;" which likely were the inspirations for J.R.R. Tolkien's warg "a kind of large ferocious wolf" in "The Hobbit" (1937) and "Lord of the Rings." Related: Enemies.