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Definition of "enemy" []

  • One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; a foe. (noun)
  • A hostile power or force, such as a nation. (noun)
  • A member or unit of such a force. (noun)
  • A group of foes or hostile forces. See Usage Note at collective noun. (noun)
  • Something destructive or injurious in its effects: "Art hath an enemy called Ignorance” ( Ben Jonson). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "enemy" in a sentence
  • "Nevertheless I continued my course towards the enemy, that to the number of twenty ships had been seen since eight o'clock at S.S.W. My opinion as to the state of the ships of the squadron remaining still indecisive, in the afternoon I desired to know _if it was advisable to attack the enemy_; the ships Concepcion, Mexicano, San Pablo,"
  • "He is, indeed, called an enemy to pilgrims, and the laft enemy*."
  • "Timeline: Walter Cronkite’s Life and Career The trouble began when the moderator asked Jennings what he would do if, during a war ­between the U.S. and another country, he’d been given the chance to travel with the enemy and report from behind his lines — only to discover, from this vantage point, that the ­enemy was about to spring a trap and mow the Americans down."