Meanings
nounenemy of the people (plural enemies of the people)
plural enemies of the people
- typically socialism or communismA political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group.
The NKVD organs . . . could extend the category of ‘enemy of the people’ to everyone who dared to utter a word of criticism.
1968, Robert Conquest, quoting Wladislaw Gomulka, “The Foreign Element”, in The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties, Macmillan Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 427
Origin
- Latinhostis publicus
- Englishenemy of the people
Calque of Latin hostis publicus (compare public enemy).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic عَدُوُّ الشَّعْبِ
- عَدُوُّ الشَّعْبِ (ʕaduwwu aš-šaʕbi)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Bulgarian враг на наро́да
- враг на наро́да (vrag na naróda)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Chinese Mandarin 人民公敵 /人民公敌
- 人民公敵 /人民公敌 (rénmín gōngdí)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Czech nepřítel lidu, nepřítelkyně lidu
- nepřítel lidua political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- nepřítelkyně lidua political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Dutch volksvijand
- volksvijanda political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Finnish kansanvihollinen
- kansanvihollinena political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
French ennemi du peuple, ennemie du peuple
- ennemi du peuplea political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- ennemie du peuplea political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
German Volksfeind, Volksfeindin
- Volksfeinda political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- Volksfeindina political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Greek εχθρός του λαού
- εχθρός του λαού (echthrós tou laoú)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Hungarian népellenség
- népellenséga political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Japanese 人民の敵, 民衆の敵
- 人民の敵 (jinmin no teki)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- 民衆の敵 (minshū no teki)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Korean 인민의 적, 민중의 적
- 인민의 적 (inmin-ui jeok)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- 민중의 적 (minjung-ui jeok)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Lithuanian liaudies priešas
- liaudies priešasa political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Norwegian Bokmål folkefiende
- folkefiendea political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Persian دشمن خلق
- دشمن خلق (došman-e xalq)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Polish wróg ludu
- wróg ludua political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Romanian inamic al poporului, dușman al poporului
- inamic al poporuluia political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- dușman al poporuluia political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Russian враг народа
- враг народа (vrag naroda)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Slovak nepriateľ ľudu, nepriateľka ľudu
- nepriateľ ľudua political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- nepriateľka ľudua political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- nepriateľkyňa ľudua political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Spanish enemigo del pueblo, enemiga del pueblo
- enemigo del puebloa political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
- enemiga del puebloa political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Swedish folkfiende
- folkfiendea political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Turkish halk düşmanı
- halk düşmanıa political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Ukrainian во́рог наро́ду
- во́рог наро́ду (vóroh naródu)a political or class opponent of the subgroup in power within a larger group
Cite this entry
APA
enemy of the people. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enemy%20of%20the%20people
MLA
“enemy of the people.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enemy%20of%20the%20people. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enemy of the people,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enemy%20of%20the%20people.
Source: enemy of the people on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.