foe

[foh]

See more synonyms for foe on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who feels enmity, hatred, or malice toward another; enemy: a bitter foe.
a military enemy; hostile army.
a person belonging to a hostile army or nation.

an opponent in a game or contest; adversary: a political foe.
a person who is opposed in feeling, principle, etc., to something: a foe to progress in civil rights.
a thing that is harmful to or destructive of something: Sloth is the foe of health.

Origin of foe

before 900; Middle English foo, Old English fāh hostile, gefāh enemy; cognate with Old High German gifēh at war. See feud¹

Synonyms for foe

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1. See enemy. 1, 3–5. opponent, antagonist.

Antonyms for foe

1–3. friend.

F.O.E.

Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for foe

enemy, adversary, antagonist, rival, anti

Examples from the Web for foe

Contemporary Examples of foe

In geopolitics, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction prevents the use of weapons of mass destruction against a foe.
The App Bringing Out The Best/Worst in Washington’s Gays
Scott Bixby
May 31, 2014
In a GOP runoff today, candidate T.J. Fabby has attacked his foe for accepting Muslim money.
How I Made Sure a Texas Tea Party Candidate Accepted ‘Dirty’ Muslim Money
Dean Obeidallah
May 27, 2014
To a progressive, he is both friend and foe; both visionary and reactionary.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Israel’s Pragmatic Kingmaker
Jay Michaelson
October 8, 2013
Which is how he and Johns made a living in their early days – as his foe Hilton Kramer liked to point out.
Magpie Loose in a Car Dealership
Blake Gopnik
July 17, 2013
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a foe of the industry, has been seated on the Senate banking committee.
Pity the Poor Bankers
Daniel Gross
January 17, 2013

Historical Examples of foe

It contrasts "foe and friend," just as the sonnet contrasts "love and hate."
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
We are natural enemies; and when your foe is disabled, then is the time to strike.
Stories from Thucydides
H. L. Havell
By this time, the first of August, we knew more about the foe we were to meet.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
They lie at the mercy of every foe, of every passion, of every change.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I
Francis Augustus Cox
You were friendless, and the man who has all earth for a foe befriends you.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for foe

foe

noun

formal, or literary another word for enemy

Word Origin for foe

Old English fāh hostile; related to Old High German fēhan to hate, Old Norse feikn dreadful; see feud 1

FoE

FOE

abbreviation for

Friends of the Earth

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 foe

Old English gefa "foe, enemy, adversary in a blood feud" (the prefix denotes "mutuality"), from fah "at feud, hostile," from Proto-Germanic *fakhaz (cf. Old High German fehan "to hate," Gothic faih "deception"), probably from PIE root *peig- "evil-minded, treacherous, hostile" (cf. Sanskrit pisunah "malicious," picacah "demon;" Greek pikros "bitter;" Lithuanian piktas "wicked, angry," pekti "to blame"). Weaker sense of "adversary" is first recorded c.1600.