enemy

Pluralenemies

1. 1
   hostile personnouncountable

   Someone who is hostile toward, feels hatred for, opposes the interests of, or intends harm to another person.

   He treated every critic as an enemy instead of listening to what they said.

   The senator and the governor had been political enemies for over a decade.

   UsagePeople make enemies, just as they make friends; someone can be an enemy of a person or an idea.

   Similarfoe, adversary, nemesis

   Oppositefriend, ally

2. 2
   opposing armynouncountable

   A hostile nation or military force, or one of its members; also used before a noun for things belonging to or done by such a force.

   Intelligence reports suggested the enemy was massing troops along the border.

   Enemy aircraft flew low over the town throughout the night.

   UsageAs one side in a war, the enemy can take a singular or plural verb: the enemy is or are advancing.

3. 3
   video gamenouncountable

   A non-player character in a video game that attempts to attack, obstruct, or otherwise harm the player.

   Each enemy in the dungeon drops loot when defeated.

   The boss fight begins only after you clear the smaller enemies in the arena.

   Note

   Game design borrows the word for any programmed opponent: each hostile figure on screen is an enemy, counted one by one, cleared from a room and often leaving loot behind. Mob serves as a synonym in gaming talk. Unlike the military sense, it names an obstacle built into the game rather than a side in a conflict, and its usual target is the player.

4. 4
   harmful thingnouncountable

   Anything that causes harm or poses a threat to a person or thing.

   Moisture is the enemy of delicate electronic equipment.

   She finally overcame procrastination, the great enemy of her writing routine.

   UsageUsually with the: something is the enemy of something else, or becomes the enemy.

   Similarbane, threat, menace, scourge

   Note

   Here the enemy is not a person at all but whatever works against someone, sometimes the very thing they wanted. In John Branch's "Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek" (2012), the fresh, soft snow the skiers had sought "instantly became the enemy."

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