en·e·my

(ĕn′ə-mē)

n. pl. en·e·mies

a. One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes another; a foe.

b. One who opposes or is hostile to an idea or cause: an enemy of democracy.

c. Something destructive or injurious in its effects: "Art hath an enemy called Ignorance" (Ben Jonson).

a. A hostile power or force, such as a nation.

b. A member or unit of such a force.

3. A group of foes or hostile forces. See Usage Note at collective noun.

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.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

enemy

(ˈɛnəmɪ)

n, pl -mies

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

2. (Military)

a. an armed adversary; opposing military force

b. (as modifier): enemy aircraft.

a. a hostile nation or people

b. (as modifier): an enemy alien.

4. something that harms or opposes; adversary: courage is the enemy of failure.

[C13: from Old French enemi, from Latin inimīcus hostile, from in-¹ + amīcus friend]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

en•e•my

(ˈɛn ə mi)

n., pl. -mies,
adj. n.

1. a person who hates, opposes, or fosters harmful designs against another; hostile opponent.

2. an opposing military force.

3. a ship, aircraft, etc., of such a force.

4. a hostile nation or state.

5. a citizen of such a state.

6. something harmful or prejudicial.

adj.

7. belonging to a hostile power or to any of its nationals: enemy property.

8. Obs. inimical; ill-disposed.

[1250–1300; < Old French < Latin inimicus unfriendly; =in- in-³ + amicus friendly, friend; see amicable]

usage: See collective noun.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	enemy - an opposing military force; "the enemy attacked at dawn" military force, military group, military unit, force - a unit that is part of some military service; "he sent Caesar a force of six thousand men" foe, foeman, enemy, opposition - an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force); "a soldier must be prepared to kill his enemies"
	2.	enemy - an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing military force); "a soldier must be prepared to kill his enemies" foe, foeman, opposition enemy - an opposing military force; "the enemy attacked at dawn" armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" adversary, antagonist, opposer, resister, opponent - someone who offers opposition besieger - an enemy who lays siege to your position
	3.	enemy - any hostile group of people; "he viewed lawyers as the real enemy" people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience"
	4.	enemy - a personal enemy; "they had been political foes for years" foe mortal enemy - an enemy who wants to kill you challenger, competitor, contender, rival, competition - the contestant you hope to defeat; "he had respect for his rivals"; "he wanted to know what the competition was doing"

enemy

noun foe, rival, opponent, the opposition, competitor, the other side, adversary, antagonist His enemies were quick to take advantage of his weakness.
friend, ally, supporter, confederate, main man (slang, chiefly U.S.), cobber (Austral. or old-fashioned N.Z. informal)

Related words
adjective inimical

Quotations
"Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes" [Antisthenes]
"You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you" [Eric Hoffer The Passionate State of Mind]
"A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies" [Oscar Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan]
"A very great man once said you should love your enemies, and that's not a bad piece of advice. We can love them, but, by God, that doesn't mean we're not going to fight them" [Norman Schwarzkopf]
"The enemy advances, we retreat."
"The enemy camps, we harass."
"The enemy tires, we attack."
"The enemy retreats, we pursue" [Mao Zedong slogan for his troops]
"We have met the enemy and he is us" [Walt Kelly Pogo]
"Yet is every man his own greatest enemy, and as it were his own executioner" [Thomas Browne Religio Medici]
"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility" [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Driftwood]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

enemy

noun

One who is hostile to or opposes the purposes or interests of another:

archenemy, foe, nemesis.

Translations

عدوعَدُوعَدُوّقُوات مُعادِيَه

врагнеприятелпротивник

nepřítel

fjendefjendtlig

malamiko

vihollinen

neprijateljneprijateljica

ellenség

óvinur

nemico

敵

원수

hostis

priešas

ienaidnieka-ienaidnieks

vijand vijandelijk

fiende fiendtlige styrker

nieprzyjaciel wróg

inimigo

враг противник супостат

nepriateľ

sovražnik

fiende

ศัตรู

düşman

kẻ thù

敌人敌军敌国敌方的仇人

enemy

[ˈenɪmɪ]

A. N (= person) → enemigo/a m/f (Mil) → enemigo m
the enemy within → el enemigo en casa
to go over to the enemy → pasarse al enemigo
to make an enemy of sb → enemistarse con algn
he is his own worst enemy → su peor enemigo es él mismo

B. CPD [territory, forces, aircraft] → enemigo
enemy alien N → extranjero/a m/f enemigo/a

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

enemy

[ˈɛnəmi]

(= opponent) → ennemi(e) m/f
an enemy of sb/sth → un ennemi de qn/qch
the enemy of sth → l'ennemi de qch
Capitalism is the enemy of progress → Le capitalisme est l'ennemi du progrès.
to make an enemy of sb → se faire un(e) ennemi(e) de qn, se mettre qn à dos
to be one's own worst enemy → être son pire ennemi public enemy

(MILITARY) → ennemi(e) m/f
The enemy are all around us → L'ennemi nous encercle., Les ennemis nous encerclent.

modif (MILITARY) [aircraft, tank, ship] → ennemi(e); [soldier, combatant, forces, troops] → ennemi(e)
enemy lines → lignes fpl ennemies
enemy fire → le feu de l'ennemi
to come under enemy fire → être pris(e) sous le feu de l'ennemi
enemy action → attaque f ennemie
enemy alien → ressortissant(e) d'un pays ennemi
the enemy camp (fig) → le camp ennemi
to go over to the enemy camp → passer à l'ennemienemy-occupied [ˌɛnəmiˈɒkjupaɪd] adj [territory, city] → occupé(e) par l'ennemi

enemy

n (lit, fig) → Feind(in) m(f); to make enemies → sich (dat) → Feinde machen or schaffen; to make an enemy of somebody → sich (dat) → jdn zum Feind(e) machen; he is his own worst enemy → er schadet sich (dat) → selbst am meisten

adj attr → feindlich; position, advance, morale → des Feindes; destroyed by enemy action → vom Feind or durch Feindeinwirkung (form) → zerstört

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

enemy

[ˈɛnəmɪ]

1. n (person) → nemico/a (Mil) → nemico
to make an enemy of sb → inimicarsi qn
he is his own worst enemy → è il peggior nemico di se stesso

2. adj (territory, forces, aircraft) → nemico/a; (morale, strategy) → del nemico

enemy

(ˈenəmi) – plural ˈenemies – noun

1. a person who hates or wishes to harm one. She is so good and kind that she has no enemies.

2. (also noun plural) troops, forces, a nation etc opposed to oneself in war etc. He's one of the enemy; The enemy was/were encamped on the hillside; (also adjective) enemy forces.

enemy

→ عَدُوّ nepřítel fjende Feind εχθρός enemigo vihollinen ennemi neprijatelj nemico 敵 원수 vijand fiende nieprzyjaciel inimigo враг fiende ศัตรู düşman kẻ thù 敌人

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

To be sure, he said, they are to receive what we owe them, and an enemy, as I take it, owes to an enemy that which is due or proper to him-- that is to say, evil.

And in what sort of actions or with a view to what result is the just man most able to do harm to his enemy and good to his friends?

View in context

And I am also your best enemy. So let me tell you the truth!

Ye shall be those whose eyes ever seek for an enemy--for YOUR enemy. And with some of you there is hatred at first sight.

View in context

I had not yet seen it, and upon this notice of an intended invasion, I avoided appearing on that side of the coast, for fear of being discovered, by some of the enemy's ships, who had received no intelligence of me; all intercourse between the two empires having been strictly forbidden during the war, upon pain of death, and an embargo laid by our emperor upon all vessels whatsoever.

The emperor concluded me to be drowned, and that the enemy's fleet was approaching in a hostile manner: but he was soon eased of his fears; for the channel growing shallower every step I made, I came in a short time within hearing, and holding up the end of the cable, by which the fleet was fastened, I cried in a loud voice, "Long live the most puissant king of Lilliput!" This great prince received me at my landing with all possible encomiums, and created me a NARDAC upon the spot, which is the highest title of honour among them.

View in context

Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.

Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.

View in context

At first nothing was able to stand before the valour of the Portuguese, the Moors were driven from one mountain to another, and were dislodged even from those places, which it seemed almost impossible to approach, even unmolested by the opposition of an enemy.

They therefore entrenched themselves on a hill over against the enemy's camp, and though victorious, were under great disadvantages.

View in context

Only Denisov's squadron of hussars remained on the farther side of the bridge facing the enemy, who could be seen from the hill on the opposite bank but was not yet visible from the bridge, for the horizon as seen from the valley through which the river flowed was formed by the rising ground only half a mile away.

View in context

The young men made inquiries and ascertained that the enemy was advancing by way of Houdin and Bethune.

View in context