enemies-to-friends-to-lovers

noun

A trope in romance fiction (particularly fan fiction) involving the development of a rivalry into friendship and eventually romantic love.

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Meanings

nounenemies-to-friends-to-lovers (uncountable)

alternative enemies to friends to lovers

  1. attributiveoftenuncountableA trope in romance fiction (particularly fan fiction) involving the development of a rivalry into friendship and eventually romantic love.

    The movie's plot is the epitome of the enemies to friends to lovers trope.

    2023, Megan Freedman, "How When Harry Met Sally... remains a timeless romcom", The Medium (University of Toronto Mississauga), 13 February 2023, page 12
    2 more examples

    I wanted more time for the two together, especially more witty barbs, since I revel in an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope.

    2020 January 29, Nathalie Graham, “Sweet As Vanilla Ice Cream”, in The Stranger, page 29

    The connection between Emma and Regina goes beyond one of the Saviour against the Villain, though the trope of enemies to friends to lovers played a big part of the initial interest in their interactions.

    2022, Victoria Mello Veríssimo da Fonseca, "Fanfiction as a Literary Text: A Narratological Study of Fanfiction Writing", paper submitted to the Universidad Federal de Río Grande del Sur, page 36
Cite this entry
APA

enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enemies-to-friends-to-lovers

MLA

“enemies-to-friends-to-lovers.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enemies-to-friends-to-lovers,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enemies-to-friends-to-lovers.

Source: enemies-to-friends-to-lovers on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.