—Synonyms 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).
One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; a foe.
A hostile power or force, such as a nation.
A member or unit of such a force.
A group of foes or hostile forces. See Usage Note at collective noun.
Something destructive or injurious in its effects: "Art hath an enemy called Ignorance"(Ben Jonson).
adj.
Of, relating to, or being a hostile power or force.
[Middle English enemi, from Old French, from Latin inimīcus : in-, not; see in-1 + amīcus, friend.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote one who is hostile to or opposes the purposes or interests of another: betrayed by enemies; a foe of fascism; a political opponent.
c.1225, from O.Fr. enemi, from L. inimicus, from in- "not" + amicus "friend." Most words for "personal enemy" cover also "enemy in war," but certain languages have special terms for the latter, e.g. Gk. polemioi (distinct from ekhthroi), L. hostis, originally "stranger" (distinct from inimicus), Rus. neprijatel' (distinct from vrag). Rus. vrag (O.C.S. vragu) is cognate with Lith. vargas "misery" (see urge), and probably is related to P.Gmc. *wargoz, source of O.N. vargr "outlaw," hence "wolf;" Icel. vargur "fox," O.E. 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."
a person who hates or wishes to harm one Example: She is so good and kind that she has no enemies.
Arabic:
عَدُو
Chinese (Simplified):
仇人
Chinese (Traditional):
仇人
Czech:
nepřítel, -kyně
Danish:
fjende
Dutch:
vijand
Estonian:
vihamees
Finnish:
vihamies
French:
ennemi, *-ie
German:
der Feind
Greek:
εχθρός, αντίζηλος
Hungarian:
ellenség
Icelandic:
óvinur
Indonesian:
musuh
Italian:
nemico
Japanese:
敵
Latvian:
ienaidnieks
Lithuanian:
priešas
Norwegian:
fiende
Polish:
wróg
Portuguese (Brazil):
inimigo
Portuguese (Portugal):
inimigo
Romanian:
duşman
Russian:
враг; недруг
Slovak:
nepriateľ, -ka
Slovenian:
sovražnik
Spanish:
enemigo
Swedish:
fiende, ovän
Turkish:
düşman
enemy2[ˈenəmi]noun
(also noun plural) troops, forces, a nation etc opposed to oneself in war etc Example: He's one of the enemy; The enemy was/were encamped on the hillside; (also adjective) enemy forces
En"e*my\, n.; pl. Enemies. [OF. enemi, F. ennemi, from L. inimicus; in- (negative) + amicus friend. See Amicable.] One hostile to another; one who hates, and desires or attempts the injury of, another; a foe; an adversary; as, an enemy of or to a person; an enemy to truth, or to falsehood. To all good he enemy was still. --Spenser. I say unto you, Love your enemies. --Matt. v. 44. The enemy (Mil.), the hostile force. In this sense it is construed with the verb and pronoun either in the singular or the plural, but more commonly in the singular; as, we have met the enemy and he is ours or they are ours. It was difficult in such a country to track the enemy. It was impossible to drive him to bay. --Macaulay. Syn: Foe; antagonist; opponent. See Adversary.
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Audio Help [en-uh-mee] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -mies, adjective 
