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Frenemy vs Enemy - What's the difference?

frenemy | enemy |

As nouns the difference between frenemy and enemy

is that frenemy is (humorous) someone who pretends to be your friend, but is really your enemy while enemy is someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.

As an adjective enemy is

of, relating to, or belonging to an enemy.

frenemy

English

Alternative forms

* frienemy

Noun

(frenemies)
  • (humorous) Someone who pretends to be your friend, but is really your enemy.
  • * 1987', '''I Ain't No Joke,''' by Eric B. and Rakim, on the album "Paid in Full." "Another enemy / Not even a ' frenemy. "
  • * 2000', '''frenemies —''Sex and the City, season 3 episode 16, first aired October 1. [title]
  • * 2001', In France the Seine has all the advantages of Northernness (a quality underrated by our Gallic '''frenemy ) but it is too fatally interested in Paris [...] —John Lanchester, ''The Debt to Pleasure. [http://print.google.com/print?id=5oQTntBdq_gC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&sig=6gozFgkZj_c0l3BG07cBvv9pCk8]
  • * 2004', You know when you dump a guy, only to discover years later that he's evolved into the perfect boyfriend—for the high-school '''frenemy who convinced you to dump him in the first place...? —''The Ex-Factor, Andrea Semple. [back cover] [http://print.google.com/print?id=POrE5lu430EC&lpg=PA278&pg=PA278&sig=Qq4QqJpU6DCfifI5g-aj6w9GJo0]
  • * 2005', So why did we break up? Enter Blaize St. John, '''frenemy extraordinaire. She came, she saw, she stole my boyfriend. —''Single Girl's Guide to Murder, Joanne Meyer. [back cover] [http://print.google.com/print?id=uWFlXyWSpfIC&pg=PT4&lpg=PT4&sig=ixqqQtxAIczgL7QnPbqldCJEy1w]
  • * 2007', "Gates made a rare and instructive appearance with his longtime ' frenemy Steve Jobs." Appeared on Time's June 18, 2007 issue.
  • (humorous) A fair-weather friend who is also a rival.
  • Synonyms

    * betrayer * double-crosser * traitor * palhole

    See also

    * (wikipedia "frenemy")

    enemy

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia enemy) (enemies)
  • Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.
  • He made a lot of enemies after reducing the working hours in his department.
    Crush the enemy !
  • A hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation.
  • rally together against a common enemy .
  • An alliance of such forces.
  • Something harmful or threatening to another
  • * '>citation
  • The very thing the 16 skiers and snowboarders had sought — fresh, soft snow — instantly became the enemy . Somewhere above, a pristine meadow cracked in the shape of a lightning bolt, slicing a slab nearly 200 feet across and 3 feet deep. Gravity did the rest.

    Synonyms

    * foe * unfriend * adversary * nemesis * backfriend

    Antonyms

    * ally * friend

    Derived terms

    {{der3, archenemy , enemydom , enemyful , enemyhood , enemyish , enemyless , enemylike , enemyness , enemyship , enemywise}}

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • of, relating to, or belonging to an enemy
  • See also

    * nemesis

    Statistics

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    Anagrams

    * (l) 1000 English basic words ----