archenemy

noun

arch·​en·​e·​my (ˌ)ärch-ˈe-nə-mē How to pronounce archenemy (audio)
plural archenemies
: a principal enemy

Examples of archenemy in a Sentence

The two politicians were archenemies. The country went to war with its archenemy.
Recent Examples on the Web Iran, an archenemy of the Israeli state, has continued this year backing Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, three regional nonstate groups that have each vowed to destroy Israel. Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2024 Israel launches risky phase of fighting Israel has been emboldened by its recent battlefield gains against Hezbollah and appears intent on delivering a knockout blow to its archenemy. Josef Federman, TIME, 1 Oct. 2024 Diplomats, analysts and officials throughout the region and in the West agree that an all-out war between Iran and Israel would be devastating, quite likely more for the Islamic Republic than its archenemy. Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2024 But this time, after beating the familiar archenemy, a purple rift starts to swallow Link whole. James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 25 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for archenemy 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'archenemy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of archenemy was in 1550

Dictionary Entries Near archenemy

Cite this Entry

“Archenemy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archenemy. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

archenemy

noun
arch·​en·​e·​my (ˈ)ärch-ˈen-ə-mē How to pronounce archenemy (audio)
: a principal enemy

More from Merriam-Webster on archenemy

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