enmity

E1N1M3I1T1Y4
UK/ˈɛn.mɪ.ti/UK, proscribed/ˈɛm.nɪ.ti/

noun

The quality of being an enemy; a hostile or unfriendly disposition.

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 11

Meanings

nounenmity (countable and uncountable, plural enmities)

plural enmities

  1. countableuncountableThe quality of being an enemy; a hostile or unfriendly disposition.

    Some later Muses from Ionia and Sicily reckoned it safest to weave together both versions and say that that which is both many and one, held together by both enmity and amity.

    2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 242e
    1 more example

    We know from their literature that to our Saxon ancestors waste places of moor and forest and marshes were the resort of a host of supernatural creatures at enmity with mankind.

    1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals, London: Longmans, Green and Co., page 14
  2. countableuncountableA state or feeling of opposition, hostility, hatred or animosity.

    I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways.

    1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC
    1 more example

    Maybe only a system that can contain the deep enmity between people who spell the metal aluminum and those who spell it aluminium is up to the task of preserving our fragile democratic institutions.

    2018 August 7, Alexis C. Madrigal, “Wikipedia, the Last Bastion of Shared Reality”, in The Atlantic

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite

nouna state of deep-seated ill-will

Broader

nounthe feeling of a hostile person

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*h₃emh₃-
  6. Proto-Italic*amāō
  7. Latinamō
  8. Latinamīcus
  9. Latininimīcus
  10. Vulgar Latin*inimicitas
  11. Old Frenchenemisté
  12. Middle Englishenemyte
  13. Englishenmity

From Middle English enemyte, from Old French enemisté, ennemistié, from Late Latin, Vulgar Latin *inimīcitās, *inimīcitātem, from Latin inimīcus (“enemy”). Cognate with French inimitié, Portuguese inimizade, Spanish enemistad. By surface analysis, en(e)m(y) + -ity.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἔχθρα
  • ἔχθρα (ékhthra)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Arabic عَدَاوَة
  • عَدَاوَة (ʕadāwa)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Bengali শত্রুতা
  • শত্রুতা (śotruta)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Bulgarian вражда́, вражде́бност
  • вражда́ (vraždá)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • вражде́бност (vraždébnost)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • неприя́зън (neprijázăn)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Catalan enemistat
  • enemistathostile or unfriendly disposition
Chinese Mandarin 敵意 /敌意
  • 敵意 /敌意 (díyì)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Czech nepřátelství
  • nepřátelstvíhostile or unfriendly disposition
Danish fjendskab
  • fjendskabhostile or unfriendly disposition
Dutch vijandschap, animositeit
  • vijandschaphostile or unfriendly disposition
  • animositeithostile or unfriendly disposition
Esperanto malamikeco
  • malamikecohostile or unfriendly disposition
Estonian vaenulikkus
  • vaenulikkushostile or unfriendly disposition
Finnish vihamielisyys
  • vihamielisyyshostile or unfriendly disposition
French inimitié
  • inimitiéhostile or unfriendly disposition
German Feindschaft
  • Feindschafthostile or unfriendly disposition
Greek εχθρότητα, έχθρα
  • εχθρότητα (echthrótita)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • έχθρα (échthra)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • μύνις (mýnis)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Hebrew אֵיבָה
  • אֵיבָה (eyvá)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Hindi घृणा, विद्वेष
  • घृणा (ghŕṇā)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • विद्वेष (vidveṣ)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • वैर (vair)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • शत्रुता (śatrutā)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • बैर (bair)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Hungarian viszály
  • viszályhostile or unfriendly disposition
Icelandic fjandskapur
  • fjandskapurhostile or unfriendly disposition
Italian inimicizia, nimistà
  • inimiciziahostile or unfriendly disposition
  • nimistàhostile or unfriendly disposition
  • ostilitàhostile or unfriendly disposition
Japanese 敵意, 敵対
  • 敵意 (tekii)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • 敵対 (tekitai)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Korean 적의, 적대
  • 적의 (jeogui)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • 적대 (jeokdae)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Latin inimicitia
  • inimicitiahostile or unfriendly disposition
Latvian ienaids
  • ienaidshostile or unfriendly disposition
Lithuanian priešiškumas
  • priešiškumashostile or unfriendly disposition
Malay permusuhan
  • permusuhanhostile or unfriendly disposition
Māori ito, pukuriri
  • itohostile or unfriendly disposition
  • pukuririhostile or unfriendly disposition
Norwegian Bokmål fiendskap
  • fiendskaphostile or unfriendly disposition
Polish wrogość, nieprzyjaźń
  • wrogośćhostile or unfriendly disposition
  • nieprzyjaźńhostile or unfriendly disposition
Portuguese inimizade
  • inimizadehostile or unfriendly disposition
Romanian dușmănie, inimiciție
  • dușmăniehostile or unfriendly disposition
  • inimicițiehostile or unfriendly disposition
Russian вражде́бность, вражда́
  • вражде́бность (vraždébnostʹ)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • вражда́ (vraždá)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • неприя́знь (neprijáznʹ)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • неприя́тие (neprijátije)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Slovak nepriateľstvo
  • nepriateľstvohostile or unfriendly disposition
Spanish enemistad, inimicicia
  • enemistadhostile or unfriendly disposition
  • inimiciciahostile or unfriendly disposition
  • desamistadhostile or unfriendly disposition
Swahili uadui
  • uaduihostile or unfriendly disposition
Swedish fiendskap
  • fiendskaphostile or unfriendly disposition
Turkish yağılık, husumet
  • yağılıkhostile or unfriendly disposition
  • husumethostile or unfriendly disposition
  • adavethostile or unfriendly disposition
  • düşmanlıkhostile or unfriendly disposition
  • hasımlıkhostile or unfriendly disposition
Ukrainian воро́жість, ворожне́ча
  • воро́жість (voróžistʹ)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • ворожне́ча (vorožnéča)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • непри́язнь (neprýjaznʹ)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • ворожда́ (voroždá)hostile or unfriendly disposition
Urdu دُشْمَنی, عَداوَت
  • دُشْمَنی (duśmanī)hostile or unfriendly disposition
  • عَداوَت ('adāvat)hostile or unfriendly disposition

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

enmity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enmity

MLA

“enmity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enmity. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enmity,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enmity.

Source: enmity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.