frenemy
- noun
- /ˈfrɛnəmi/
- Slang
- I don't care that my frenemy from grad school got a million dollars for that literary crossover novel.
- friends and frenemies
- become frenemies
Are are you and Magnus friends, enemies, frenemies?
- Are are you and Magnus friends, enemies, frenemies?
- So he just wants me to be his daddy and his frenemy.
- Like whatever you do, how can people recognise or learn to recognise frenemies better?
- Facebook and Instagram and Google are great for me because I look at them as frenemies.
- Because if people like frenemies are the most, like, psychologically damaging thing in the world, if you have a frenemy, get rid of them right now.
- And one common sign of a frenemy of somebody who's befriending you out of envy is they're in a rush to be your friend.
Examples
-
That speaks to the frenemy relationship between media companies and cable providers, whose mutual interest seems balanced by a mutual distrust.
Blog text (6) -
Trust me, a frenemy is no friend indeed.
-
Oh, so she was a frenemy?
-
Until now, there has been no bigger frenemy relationship than the one between Apple and Google in the smartphone business.
Blog text (18) -
Vegetables and I are the best of frenemies.
Blog text (8) -
Chloe and Lily used to be frenemies, but as of late, they never really communicate.
Blog text (9) -
It is also the beginning of the weird and wonderful frenemy relationship between Julia and Barnabas that persisted through the end of the show.
Blog text (12) -
That’s why I didn’t realize she was a frenemy until after we both graduated high school and went off to our separate colleges.
Blog text (25) -
Status: After their breakup, Ryder has had a tempestuous relationship with her ex and mutual friend Gwyneth Paltrow, who Paltrow calls "her worst frenemy."
Blog text (12) -
It can be hard to tell who your real friends are when you have a frenemy lurking in the group.
Synonyms
A person who wants to harm or defeat you
A person or group that fights against you in a conflict
A person who acts friendly but secretly betrays someone who trusts them
On the other side in a fight, game, or argument
Antonyms
How Friendly
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Frenemy comes from the modern joining of friend and enemy, so you can remember it as someone who looks like a 'friend' but secretly behaves like an 'enemy'. That's why a frenemy is a person you may trust a little but who may secretly compete with you.