Enemy — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

an opposing military force

an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force)

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ˈɛnəmi/

🇬🇧British English

/ˈɛnəmi/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ˈɛnəmi/

3 syllables Say it as /ˈɛnəmi/.

Examples

the enemy attacked at dawn
a soldier must be prepared to kill his enemies
he viewed lawyers as the real enemy

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

foeman opposition foe

Antonyms

friend

Parts of Speech

noun	an opposing military force “the enemy attacked at dawn”
noun	an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force) “a soldier must be prepared to kill his enemies”
noun	any hostile group of people “he viewed lawyers as the real enemy”
noun	a personal enemy “they had been political foes for years”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Feind

eine gegnerische Militärmacht

🇫🇷French

ennemi

une force militaire opposée

🇪🇸Spanish

enemigo

una fuerza militar opuesta

🇮🇹Italian

nemico

una forza militare avversaria

🇳🇱Dutch

vijand

een vijandige militaire macht

🇵🇹Portuguese

inimigo

uma força militar oposta

🇷🇺Russian

враг

противостоящая военная сила

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दुश्मन

एक विरोधी सैन्य बल

🇧🇩Bengali

শত্রু

একটি বিরোধী সামরিক বাহিনী

🇮🇳Tamil

எதிரி

ஒரு எதிர் இராணுவ படை

🇮🇳Telugu

శత్రువు

ఒక వ్యతిరేక సైనిక శక్తి

🇮🇳Marathi

शत्रू

एक विरोधी लष्करी शक्ती

🇮🇳Gujarati

દુશ્મન

એક વિરોધી લશ્કરી દળ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಶತ್ರು

ಎದುರಾಳಿ ಮಿಲಿಟರಿ ಪಡೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ശത്രു

ഒരു എതിർ സൈനിക ശക്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦੁਸ਼ਮਣ

ਇੱਕ ਵਿਰੋਧੀ ਫੌਜੀ ਫੋਰਸ

🇵🇰Urdu

دشمن

ایک مخالف فوجی قوت

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

敌人

敌对军事力量

🇯🇵Japanese

敵

敵対する軍事力

🇰🇷Korean

적

반대하는 군대

🇻🇳Vietnamese

kẻ thù

một lực lượng quân sự đối lập

🇹🇭Thai

ศัตรู

กำลังทหารฝ่ายตรงข้าม

🇮🇩Indonesian

musuh

kekuatan militer lawan

🇵🇭Filipino

kaaway

isang kalaban na puwersang militar

🇲🇾Malay

musuh

pasukan tentera yang menentang

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

العدو

قوة عسكرية معارضة

🇮🇷Persian

دشمن

یک نیروی نظامی مخالف

🇹🇷Turkish

düşman

karşıt bir askeri güç

🇮🇱Hebrew

אוֹיֵב

כוח צבאי מתנגד

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'enemy'?

The primary meaning of 'enemy' is 'an opposing military force'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'enemy' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'enemy' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'enemy' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'enemy' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'enemy' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'enemy' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'enemy' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'enemy' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'enemy' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'enemy' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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