enemy

/ˈɛn.ə.mi/

//ˈɛn.ə.mi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"enemy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“enemy” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,038. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,038
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.

Corpus desk

Index EN-enemy · enemy · English

enemy · rank #2,038 · 7 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,038
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH elements

Nearest frequency peer: elements (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “enemy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “enemy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

enemy vs envy
60% similar
enemy vs every
60% similar
enemy vs enjoy
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for enemy
PropertyValue
Headwordenemy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛn.ə.mi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,038
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “enemy”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).enemylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “elements” (#2,037), “ensure” (#2,039), “dick” (#2,036). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “enemy” is #2,038. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around enemy (IPA /ˈɛn.ə.mi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,038 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for enemy, with forms such as "eenmy", "enemmy", and "enemyy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "envy", "every", "enjoy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English enemy, enemye, enmy, borrowed from Old French enemi, anemi (Modern French ennemi), from Latin inimīcus, from in- (“not”) + amīcus (“friend”). Displaced Middle English fend (“enemy”), from Old English fēond (“enemy”), which survived into … The correct English form is enemy, spelled E-N-E-M-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.
  2. 2
    A hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation.
  3. 3
    Something harmful or threatening to another
  4. 4
    Of, by, relating to, or belonging to an enemy.
  5. 5
    A non-player character that tries to harm the player.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how enemy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. under enemy duress
  2. He made a lot of enemies after reducing the working hours in his department.

Etymology

From Middle English enemy, enemye, enmy, borrowed from Old French enemi, anemi (Modern French ennemi), from Latin inimīcus, from in- (“not”) + amīcus (“friend”). Displaced Middle English fend (“enemy”), from Old English fēond (“enemy”), which survived into Modern English as fiend, but with a different meaning. Doublet of inimic.

Synonyms

adversaryantagonistbackfriendbanebête noirecorrivalenemyfiendfoefoemanunfriendnemesisopponentopposerrival

Antonyms

accompliceallyfriendpalpartnersupporter

This word in other languages

enemigo(Español)ennemi(Français)Feind(Deutsch)inimigo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eenmy
  • enemmy
  • enemyy
  • eneym
  • enmey
  • ennemy
  • neemy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of enemy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

eenmy2enemmy1enemyy1eneym2enmey2ennemy1neemy2
Edit distance from "enemy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "enemy"?
"enemy" is spelled E-N-E-M-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛn.ə.mi/.
What does "enemy" mean?
As a noun, "enemy" means: Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.
What words are commonly confused with "enemy"?
"enemy" is commonly confused with "envy", "every", "enjoy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "enemy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "enemy" is /ˈɛn.ə.mi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "enemy"?
From Middle English enemy, enemye, enmy, borrowed from Old French enemi, anemi (Modern French ennemi), from Latin inimīcus, from in- (“not”) + amīcus (“friend”). Displaced Middle English fend (“enemy”), from Old English fēond (“enemy”), which surv... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "enemy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

crowd#2,034fixed#2,042limit#2,047ocean#2,049

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

proof7 variantsSteve7 variantssteel7 variantssigns7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list