frenemy
noun
fren·e·my
ˈfre-nə-mē 
plural frenemies
informal
: a person who is or pretends to be a friend but who is also in some ways an enemy or rival
In Hollywood, everyone has lots of frenemies, usually people who are doing comparatively well at any given moment.—
Pete Clark
Pete ClarkIn an awkward awards ceremony, Phil [Mickelson] and Tiger [Woods] stood on the 18th green together as frenemies. Phil held up the crystal trophy for the tournament title, while Tiger squirreled away a $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup …—Selena Roberts
Selena RobertsExamples of frenemy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That hard work clearly paid off, and Hathaway is dynamic as the feline frenemy of Batman.
—Chris Bellamy and Stephanie Kaloi, EW.com, 2 May 2024
Gerwig plays an art-world beginner named Gen, who goes on a camping trip with a longtime frenemy, a teacher named Rachel (Bronstein), whose roommate, Alice (Amy Judd), abruptly cancels on them.
—The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for frenemy 
Chris Bellamy and Stephanie Kaloi, EW.com, 2 May 2024
Gerwig plays an art-world beginner named Gen, who goes on a camping trip with a longtime frenemy, a teacher named Rachel (Bronstein), whose roommate, Alice (Amy Judd), abruptly cancels on them.
—The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for frenemy
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'frenemy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Frenemy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frenemy. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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