enemy

American  

[en-uh-mee] / ˈɛn ə mi /

noun

enemies plural

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

   Synonyms:

   antagonist

   Antonyms:

   friend

2. an armed foe; an opposing military force.

   The army attacked the enemy at dawn.

   Antonyms:

   ally

3. a hostile nation or state.

4. a citizen of such a state.

5. enemies, persons, nations, etc., that are hostile to one another.

   Let's make up and stop being enemies.

6. something harmful or prejudicial.

   His unbridled ambition is his worst enemy.

7. the Enemy, the Devil; Satan.

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adjective

1. belonging to a hostile power or to any of its nationals.

   enemy property.

2. Obsolete. inimical; ill-disposed.

enemy British  

/ ˈɛnəmɪ /

noun

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

2. 1. an armed adversary; opposing military force

   2. ( as modifier )

      enemy aircraft

3. 1. a hostile nation or people

   2. ( as modifier )

      an enemy alien

4. something that harms or opposes; adversary

   courage is the enemy of failure

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Grammar

See collective noun.

Synonym Usage

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 ).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonenemy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• enemies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of enemy

First recorded in 1300–1350; Middle English enemi, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin inimicus “unfriendly,” equivalent to in- in- ³ + amicus “friendly, friend”; see amicable

Explanation

An enemy is a hostile opponent, like your sworn Scrabble enemy who vows to get revenge on your last triple word score. An enemy is a person who actively opposes someone or something. The Latin word inimicus, meaning "hostile, unfriendly," is the root of enemy, and it comes from the prefix in-, or "not," and amicus, "friend:" an enemy is "not a friend." When two armies fight each other, they both think of the opposing army as the enemy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enemy enemies

The new defence secretary, Streeting, can then be heard calling Norris "the enemy now" while the Mahmood responds "no he's not".

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

The fibers are engineered to a length that enables them to resonate, producing a return that confuses enemy radar or tricks radar-guided missiles into locking onto the wrong target.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Tasnim reported that one of its correspondents had reported that locations around the island "were struck by projectiles from the American enemy".

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

Beyond this dispute, there sits a fundamental misreading by each side of its enemy.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Yes, Adek, my old enemy, was also in the camp.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Up until Mr. Richman’s album, punk and pop had been bitter enemies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Despite his low key style, he proved capable of delivering stern warnings to the UK's enemies.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The intended message from the Americans to their detained enemies was: We’re the good guys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Whether it’s vanquishing assailants or surreptitiously surveilling enemies, daemons provide significant advantages for their masters.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

It’s a display of size and health, and it’s supposed to make your enemies back down.

From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins

Related Words

• adversary
• agent
• antagonist
• attacker
• bandit
• competitor
• criminal
• detractor
• foe
• guerrilla
• invader
• murderer
• opponent
• opposition
• prosecutor
• rebel
• rival
• spy
• terrorist
• traitor