nemesis

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A rival or opponent who is very hard to beat and who seems to cause you constant trouble.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a nemesis' or 'my nemesis'. The plural is 'nemeses'.

   Patterns

   • someone's nemesis
   • meet your nemesis
   • a nemesis of someone

   The champion finally faced his old nemesis in the final.

   She has become the nemesis of the company's biggest competitor.

   For years, the detective was the criminal's nemesis.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   A source of persistent harm or difficulty that seems impossible to escape.

   Grammar: Often used figuratively for things, not people, e.g. 'the nemesis of our plans'.

   Patterns

   • the nemesis of something
   • prove to be someone's nemesis

   Inflation proved to be the nemesis of the government's economic plans.

   For many students, the final exam is their nemesis.

   Climate change is the nemesis of coastal communities.

Word forms

Common combinations

arch-nemesis

The superhero's arch-nemesis escaped from prison again.

political nemesis

The senator's political nemesis ran against him in the election.

meet one's nemesis

The team met its nemesis in the semi-final.

become someone's nemesis

That injury became the runner's nemesis.

Synonyms and how they differ

rival

A rival is any competitor; a nemesis is a rival who is especially difficult to defeat and often causes repeated trouble.

adversary

Adversary is a formal word for an opponent; nemesis is stronger and suggests a long-standing, almost fated struggle.

foe

Foe is a literary or formal word for an enemy; nemesis is more specific and often used in stories or sports.

Opposites

Word family

nemeses noun

The plural of nemesis.

Commonly confused: nemesis or nemesis?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “nemesis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words