- enemy
- enemy, foe denote an individual or body of individuals that is hostile or that manifests hostility to another.Enemy usually stresses antagonism that arises from a cherished hatred or a desire to harm or destroy, but it may suggest nothing much more than active or evident dislike or a habit of preying upon{
a man with many friends and no enemies
}{the anarchist is the enemy of government
}{the woodpecker is a natural enemy of insects that infest the bark of trees
}{let the teacher appear always the ally of the pupil, not his natural enemy— Russell
}{time is at once the enemy and the ally of life and of love— Millett
}Foe, on the other hand, implies active warfare{he is the foe of all reform measures
}{give me the avowed, the erect, the manly foe, bold I can meet,—perhaps may turn his blow!— Canning
}When the reference is to a nation or group of nations with whom a country is at war, enemy is preferred in general use, foe being used in this sense chiefly in poetry or rhetorical prose{we have met the enemy, and they are ours— O. H. Perry
}{whispering with white lips— "Thefoe! They come!"— Byron
}
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.