frenemy

noun

fren·​e·​my ˈfre-nə-mē 

plural frenemies

informal : a person who is or pretends to be a friend but who is also in some ways an enemy or rival

In Hollywood, everyone has lots of frenemies, usually people who are doing comparatively well at any given moment.

—Pete Clark

In an awkward awards ceremony, Phil [Mickelson] and Tiger [Woods] stood on the 18th green together as frenemies. Phil held up the crystal trophy for the tournament title, while Tiger squirreled away a $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup …

—Selena Roberts

Examples of frenemy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, the 808’s & Heartbreaks rapper had positive words for his longtime frenemy Drake, throwing his support behind the Toronto superstar in his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 31 Mar. 2025

The thriller — which also stars Allison Janney, Andrew Rannells, and Alex Newell — follows Stephanie (Kendrick) as she is whisked away to Capri in Italy to attend the wedding of her frenemy Emily (Lively). —EW.com, 14 Mar. 2025

But both Emily and Stephanie know that Stephanie is going to say yes, even before Emily lightly threatens to sue her best frenemy for using her likeness without permission. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2025

Burnett’s filmmaking is equally accommodating, especially in one comic touch: a tree branch that rustles and shakes each time Fish pushes his invisible frenemy out the window. —J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 15 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

blend of friend entry 1 and enemy

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frenemy

• enemy

Kids Definition

frenemy

noun

fren·​e·​my

ˈfren-ə-mē

plural frenemies

informal : someone who pretends to be a friend but is really an enemy