Skip to main content
frenemy

frenemy

5 7.7
A person who seems friendly but secretly competes with you
  • noun
  • /ˈfrɛnəmi/
  • Slang
translation icon : amigo-rival
  • 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?

Autoplay Next

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

enemy
vsfrenemy
1.0

A person who wants to harm or defeat you

appears friendly but actually opposes or harms secretly
foe
vsfrenemy
128 3.5

A person or group that fights against you in a conflict

appears friendly but hides rivalry or hostility
backstabber
vsfrenemy
  • Offensive
8 5.1

A person who acts friendly but secretly betrays someone who trusts them

appears friendly but hides rivalry or hostility
opponent
vsfrenemy
3.4

On the other side in a fight, game, or argument

often pretends friendship while actually being opposed or hostile

Antonyms

1.0

A person you know well and like who is not family or a romantic partner

How Friendly

friend
1.0
frenemy
  • Slang
5 7.7
rival
292 2.7
enemy
1.0

Surface Forms

frenemy singular
frenemies plural

Morphology

frenemy = friend + enemy (transparent) = fren + emy

The meaning is a straightforward blend of 'friend' and 'enemy' (appears friendly but is hostile), so learners who know the base words can infer the meaning.

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.