nemesis

CEFRC1

/ˈnɛməsɪs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A powerful enemy who repeatedly causes problems.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A person or character who specifically brings about the downfall of another person or character, as an agent of that character's fate or destiny, especially within a narrative.

Examples

  • I see you are once again afraid to do battle with your nemesis.

  • It's sort of the classic Greek tragedy of hubris begets nemesis.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The personification of the "fatal flaw" of a dramatic hero in the style of Greek tragedy.

  2. An enemy, especially an archenemy.

  3. Polar opposite, especially of a literary character.

More examples

In context

  • Batman is in constant conflict with his nemesis, The Joker.

  • The roofer stayed in touch, committed to the downfall of his nemesis, Mikey. One week after his initial phone call, we were on our way to raid Mikey's trite home armed with a federal search warrant. There were six of us.

  • They were different in many ways but what was it about opposites attracting... […] She was his opposite, but not his nemesis, and they worked well together. She hoped he liked working with her.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The detective found that his greatest blank was the criminal he could never catch.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From the Greek goddess of retribution Nemesis (Ancient Greek Νέμεσις (Némesis)).