enemy
en·e·my/ˈɛnəmi/noun, verb
enemy is spelled E-N-E-M-Y: 5 letters and 3 syllables (en·e·my). It appears 50 times per million words in written English, the 2,041st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, enemy means “Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of enemy is enemies.
How many letters and syllables are in enemy?
| Letters | 5: E-N-E-M-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: en·e·my |
| In writing | 50 times per million words; the 2,041st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is enemy?
Enemy appears 50 times per million words in written English, the 2,041st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce enemy?
- US /ˈɛnəmi/
- Australia /ˈenəmi/
- /ˈɛnəme/
Enemy has 3 syllables, split en·e·my in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-enemy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of enemy
- enemies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- enemying participle, present
- enemied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does enemy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.
under enemy duress
- 2
A hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation.
Rally together against a common enemy.
- 3
Something harmful or threatening to another
- 4
Of, by, relating to, or belonging to an enemy.
The building was destroyed by enemy bombing.
- 5
A non-player character that tries to harm the player.
verb
- 1
To make an enemy of.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate enemy?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of enemy: enm.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Enemy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ennemi, ennemie |
| German | Feind, Feindin, Gegner, Gegnerin , feindlich |
| Portuguese | inimigo, inimiga |
| Spanish | enemigo, enemiga, tirios y troyanos , contendiente, rival |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does enemy come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).