ARCH-ENEMY | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of arch-enemy in English arch-enemynoun [ C ] uk /ˌɑːtʃˈen.ə.mi/ us /ˌɑːrtʃˈen.ə.mi/ Add to word list Add to word list an especially bad enemy Enemies & rivals
  • adversary
  • antagonist
  • deadly enemy
  • enemy
  • foe
  • frenemy
  • natural enemy
  • nemesis
  • opponent
  • rival
  • scalp
  • sworn enemy
  • them
  • them and us idiom
(Definition of arch-enemy from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of arch-enemy

arch-enemy It is in the excuses that are trotted out to account for the arch-enemy inflation. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 They had come to trust us and now we had to break the trust and send them back to their arch-enemy. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 Now this arch-enemy has been humbled to the dust, and on his own admission has been made to see the error of his ways. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 He has become the arch-enemy of mankind. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 His arch-enemy was a female demon named "ala" (plural: "ale"), whose main activity was to lead storm and hail clouds over fields to destroy crops. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Two cousins have to spend a spell in service to qualify for an inheritance, but they find themselves in the same house as their arch-enemy. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Although his last team was the traditional arch-enemy of his new squad, he slowly became popular among his new fans. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Soon she came to regard the aircraft as an arch-enemy which thwarted attacks on convoys by hovering overhead and guiding possible targets around the submarine, out of firing range. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Many would seek to demonise centre-right politics, capitalism and business as the arch-enemies of environmental welfare. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 He has long been in the habit of treating property owners as arch-enemies in the class war. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of arch-enemy?

Translations of arch-enemy

in Chinese (Traditional) 主要敵人, 大敵, 死敵… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 主要敌人, 大敌, 死敌… See more in Spanish archienemigo, archienemiga, Archienemigo… See more in Portuguese arqui-inimigo, arqui-inimiga… See more in French in Turkish in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Ukrainian ennemi juré… See more baş düşman… See more aartsvijand… See more úhlavní nepřítel… See more ærkefjende… See more musuh utama… See more ศัตรูสำคัญ… See more kẻ thù không đợi trời chung… See more arcy-wróg… See more ärkefiende… See more musuh ketat… See more der Erzfeind… See more erkefiende… See more головний ворог, найбільший недруг… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

arcane arced arch arch your back arch-enemy arch-villain archaea archaeal BETA archaeological {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

Word of the Day

in all modesty

said when you want to say something good about yourself, but do not want to seem to think you are too important

About this

Blog

Pondering, musing, and brooding (The language of thinking)

February 11, 2026 Read More

New Words

treatonomics February 16, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI icon AI Assistant Contents EnglishExamplesTranslations AI icon AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
  • Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
  • Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Danish Danish–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents
  • English   Noun
  • Examples
  • Translations
  • Grammar
  • All translations
My word lists

To add arch-enemy to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add arch-enemy to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

Tag » What Is An Arch Nemesis