"frenemy" meaning in English

See frenemy in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈfɹɛ.nɪ.mi/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav [Southern-England] Forms: frenemies [plural]
Etymology: Blend of friend + enemy. Likely to have been invented independently multiple times. Etymology templates: {{blend|en|friend|enemy}} Blend of friend + enemy Head templates: {{en-noun}} frenemy (plural frenemies)
  1. (sometimes humorous) Someone who has traits of an enemy and a friend. Tags: humorous, sometimes Categories (topical): People Translations (enemy pretending to be a friend): vryand (Afrikaans), ennami [masculine] (French), aminimigo [masculine] (Portuguese), aminimiga [feminine] (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-frenemy-en-noun-5YA9g1zp Disambiguation of People: 67 33 Disambiguation of 'enemy pretending to be a friend': 72 28
  2. (sometimes humorous) A fair-weather friend who is also a rival. Tags: humorous, sometimes Translations (fair-weather friend who is also a rival): meilleur ennemi [masculine] (French), aminimigo [masculine] (Portuguese), aminimiga [feminine] (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-frenemy-en-noun-LXcANf1Y Categories (other): English blends, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English entries with topic categories using raw markup, English oxymorons Disambiguation of English blends: 38 62 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 25 75 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 22 78 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 14 86 Disambiguation of English oxymorons: 28 72 Disambiguation of 'fair-weather friend who is also a rival': 8 92
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: betrayer, double-crosser, traitor, palhole, friend-foe, frienemy Related terms: backfriend

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for frenemy meaning in English (5.3kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "friend",
        "3": "enemy"
      },
      "expansion": "Blend of friend + enemy",
      "name": "blend"
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "Blend of friend + enemy. Likely to have been invented independently multiple times.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "frenemies",
      "tags": [
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  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "frenemy (plural frenemies)",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "backfriend"
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      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "67 33",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1987, by Eric B. and Rakim (lyrics and music), “I Ain't No Joke”, in Paid in Full",
          "text": "Another enemy / Not even a frenemy.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, New Radicals (lyrics and music), “You Get What You Give”",
          "text": "Frienemies who when you're down ain't your friend",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, John Lanchester, The Debt to Pleasure.",
          "text": "In France the Seine has all the advantages of Northernness (a quality underrated by our Gallic frenemy) but it is too fatally interested in Paris [...]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, Andrea Semple, The Ex-Factor, back cover",
          "text": "You know when you dump a guy, only to discover years later that he's evolved into the perfect boyfriend—for the high-school frenemy who convinced you to dump him in the first place...?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Joanne Meyer, Single Girl's Guide to Murder, back cover",
          "text": "So why did we break up? Enter Blaize St. John, frenemy extraordinaire. She came, she saw, she stole my boyfriend.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 June 18, Time",
          "text": "Gates made a rare and instructive appearance with his longtime frenemy Steve Jobs.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
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        "Someone who has traits of an enemy and a friend."
      ],
      "id": "en-frenemy-en-noun-5YA9g1zp",
      "links": [
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sometimes humorous) Someone who has traits of an enemy and a friend."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "sometimes"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "72 28",
          "code": "af",
          "lang": "Afrikaans",
          "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
          "word": "vryand"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "72 28",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ennami"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "72 28",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "aminimigo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "72 28",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "aminimiga"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "38 62",
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          "_dis": "25 75",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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          "_dis": "22 78",
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          "_dis": "14 86",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "28 72",
          "kind": "other",
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 April 6, Erin Ehrlich, Six Characters in Search of a House (King of the Hill), season 12, episode 17, spoken by Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root)",
          "text": "So, we're definitely not going to be friends with Ferguson? Maybe we can be frenemies. A love-hate relationship's the next best thing.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A fair-weather friend who is also a rival."
      ],
      "id": "en-frenemy-en-noun-LXcANf1Y",
      "links": [
        [
          "fair-weather friend",
          "fair-weather friend"
        ],
        [
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          "rival"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sometimes humorous) A fair-weather friend who is also a rival."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "sometimes"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "8 92",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "fair-weather friend who is also a rival",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "meilleur ennemi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 92",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "fair-weather friend who is also a rival",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
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          "word": "aminimigo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "8 92",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "fair-weather friend who is also a rival",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "aminimiga"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfɹɛ.nɪ.mi/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/22/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/22/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "betrayer"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "double-crosser"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "traitor"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "palhole"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "friend-foe"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "frienemy"
    }
  ],
  "word": "frenemy"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English blends",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
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    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English oxymorons",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "en:People"
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  "etymology_templates": [
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      "name": "blend"
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "Blend of friend + enemy. Likely to have been invented independently multiple times.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "frenemies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "frenemy (plural frenemies)",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "backfriend"
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  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1987, by Eric B. and Rakim (lyrics and music), “I Ain't No Joke”, in Paid in Full",
          "text": "Another enemy / Not even a frenemy.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, New Radicals (lyrics and music), “You Get What You Give”",
          "text": "Frienemies who when you're down ain't your friend",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, John Lanchester, The Debt to Pleasure.",
          "text": "In France the Seine has all the advantages of Northernness (a quality underrated by our Gallic frenemy) but it is too fatally interested in Paris [...]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, Andrea Semple, The Ex-Factor, back cover",
          "text": "You know when you dump a guy, only to discover years later that he's evolved into the perfect boyfriend—for the high-school frenemy who convinced you to dump him in the first place...?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Joanne Meyer, Single Girl's Guide to Murder, back cover",
          "text": "So why did we break up? Enter Blaize St. John, frenemy extraordinaire. She came, she saw, she stole my boyfriend.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 June 18, Time",
          "text": "Gates made a rare and instructive appearance with his longtime frenemy Steve Jobs.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Someone who has traits of an enemy and a friend."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "enemy",
          "enemy"
        ],
        [
          "friend",
          "friend"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sometimes humorous) Someone who has traits of an enemy and a friend."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "sometimes"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2008 April 6, Erin Ehrlich, Six Characters in Search of a House (King of the Hill), season 12, episode 17, spoken by Bill Dauterive (Stephen Root)",
          "text": "So, we're definitely not going to be friends with Ferguson? Maybe we can be frenemies. A love-hate relationship's the next best thing.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A fair-weather friend who is also a rival."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fair-weather friend",
          "fair-weather friend"
        ],
        [
          "rival",
          "rival"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sometimes humorous) A fair-weather friend who is also a rival."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "sometimes"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfɹɛ.nɪ.mi/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/22/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/22/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-frenemy.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
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      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "betrayer"
    },
    {
      "word": "double-crosser"
    },
    {
      "word": "traitor"
    },
    {
      "word": "palhole"
    },
    {
      "word": "friend-foe"
    },
    {
      "word": "frienemy"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "af",
      "lang": "Afrikaans",
      "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
      "word": "vryand"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ennami"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "aminimigo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "enemy pretending to be a friend",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "aminimiga"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "fair-weather friend who is also a rival",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "meilleur ennemi"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "fair-weather friend who is also a rival",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "aminimigo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "fair-weather friend who is also a rival",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "aminimiga"
    }
  ],
  "word": "frenemy"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.