nemesis
/ˈnɛməsɪs/noun
nemesis is spelled N-E-M-E-S-I-S. The wrong spelling people search most is nemisis: about 930 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 10 of all searches for the word. Nemesis is a noun meaning “An enemy, especially an archenemy”. The plural of nemesis is nemeses.
How many letters and syllables are in nemesis?
| Letters | 7: N-E-M-E-S-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, nemisis, about 930 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell nemesis?
Nemesis is spelled N-E-M-E-S-I-S. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for nemesis in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is nemesis?
Nemesis appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th 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 nemesis?
- /ˈnɛməsɪs/
Nemesis has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nemesis.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nemesis?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as nemesis.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: siemens.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nemesis
- nemeses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nemesis mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An enemy, especially an archenemy.
Batman is in constant conflict with his nemesis, The Joker.
- 2
A person or character who specifically brings about the downfall of another person or character, as an agent of that character's fate or destiny, especially within a narrative.
- 3
The personification of the "fatal flaw" of a dramatic hero in the style of Greek tragedy.
- 4
Polar opposite, especially of a literary character.
- 5
The principle of retributive justice.
- 6
A punishment or defeat that is deserved and cannot be avoided; (an instance of) retribution.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nemesis in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense archenemy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | némesis |
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 nemesis come from?
From the Greek goddess of retribution Nemesis (Ancient Greek Νέμεσις (Némesis)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).