Enemies refers to people or groups who oppose or wish harm to someone or something. In plural form, it denotes multiple adversaries and is used across contexts from personal disputes to political or military rivalries. The word carries negative valence and can function as a general label or specific role in a narrative.
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"The two nations have been enemies for decades, fueling a tense diplomatic standoff."
"She discovered her former rivals had become her loudest enemies at the party."
"In the story, the protagonist outwits her enemies through careful planning."
"The friends argued, but they would never consider each other enemies in the broader sense."
Enemies comes from Old French enemi (13th century) from Latin inimicus meaning “enemy, personal foe,” formed from in- “not” + amic- “friend.” The root amic- meaning friend appears in amicus and amicable, while inimicus developed to mean “unfriendly, harmful.” Medieval Latin and Old French usage shifted toward collective opponents in warfare, politics, and personal disputes. In English, enemi- emerged in the late Middle English period as a plural form of adversary, with -es ending added to form the noun. First known English attestations trace to 14th century religious and political texts describing enemies of the church or state. Over centuries, the term broadened to include any opposing party, rival, or hostile actor, while retaining pejorative connotations. The plural form enemies is common in modern political rhetoric, journalism, literature, and everyday speech, and remains closely tied to the sense of ongoing conflict or antagonism between groups or individuals. The evolution reflects social psychology around in-group/out-group dynamics and the linguistic tendency to mark plural adversaries with -ies, fused to the base form. This shift helps speakers convey multiple opposition figures succinctly in both informal and formal registers. Today, enemy and enemies occupy a central lexical space in discussions of conflict, security, and strategy, while the singular form continues to denote a single foe.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "enemies" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "enemies"
-ies sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as en-uh-meez with primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈɛnəmiːz/ in most careful speech, or /ˈɛnəmiːz/ with a longer final vowel in some dialects. Break it into three syllables: /ˈɛn/ + /ə/ + /miːz/. The /mə/ reduces to a schwa in fast speech, and the final /z/ is a voiced alveolar sibilant. Listen for the slight linking between /ən/ and /ə/ and keep the final /z/ clean and unvoiced? No, voiced. Audio reference: try Cambridge or Forvo entries for /ˈɛnəmiːz/.
Common mistakes: (1) Stressing the second syllable instead of the first, saying /ˌɛnəˈmiːz/ or /ˈɛnəˈmiːz/. (2) Reducing too aggressively to /ˈɛnmiːz/ by skipping the middle vowel, causing loss of the /ə/ in the second syllable. (3) Mispronouncing the final consonant as /s/ instead of /z/, especially in careful speech. Correction: keep three syllables with a light schwa in the middle and voice the final /z/. Practice slowly: en-ə-miyez, then naturalize the /ə/ as a quick card vowel, then end with /z/.
In US English, /ˈɛnəˌmiz/ with some speakers showing /ˈɛnəmiːz/ due to vowel lengthening in connected speech. UK English tends to /ˈɛnəmiːz/ or /ˈɛnəmiːz/ with less rhoticity effect; AU often aligns with US in rhoticity but may feature slightly shorter /ə/ and a more clipped final /z/. Across all, the rough center syllable reduces to /ə/ and the final is a voiced /z/. Accent-specific notes: US often with more flapped or reduced second syllable in connected speech; UK less reduction.
The difficulty comes from multi-syllabic structure and vowel reduction: three syllables with a central schwa and a voiceless-to-voiced final transition, which can blur in fast speech. The contrast between /ɪ/ or /iː/ in the final syllable’s 'mi' and the /z/ can be tricky if the final is devoiced in rapid speech or the /ə/ becomes a schwa-like sound. Focus on maintaining three distinct syllables and sustaining voicing on /z/.
A distinctive feature is the contrastive timing of syllables: the first syllable bears primary stress, while the second is heavily reduced to a light vowel, and the final syllable carries the voiced /z/. This creates a rhythm where you feel a light, quick middle pass before the longer final sound. Emphasize the three-beat tempo: EN-a-mi(es). Practicing with minimal pairs that vary the middle vowel helps anchor the accuracy in real speech.
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