Archenemy

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An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis (sometimes spelled arch-enemy, arch-foe, arch-villain or arch-nemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction, often described as the hero's worst enemy (compare nemesis). The reason as to why the particular villain stands out more than the other rogues gallery villains varies, although they may be the hardest enemy to fight, the hero's opposite, the most often recurring villain, always bearing the most dangerous plots and posing the biggest threat, such as global domination in comparison to burglary, or was once a friend of the hero, or is the source of constant tragedy, pain, and horror to the hero. + An archenemy, archfoe, archvillain or archnemesis is the principal enemy of a character in a work of fiction. In comic books, the term refers to a recurring supervillain who is regarded as the hero's most hated foe.

It is sometimes possible for a hero to have more than one archenemy; however, when none of the recurring foes in a hero's rogues gallery stand out more than the others, it is more accurate to say that the hero does not have an arch-enemy (see entries below).

Pronunciation

The correct way to pronounce 'archenemy' is (artch-en-im-ee). However, there is a second pronunciation, which, although it is incorrect, is somewhat fluent. This incorrect pronunciation is (ark-in-e-mee). The Japanese use this pronunciation of "arch" (アーク Āku) in borrowed English words (アークエネミー Ākuenemī). アーチ (Āchi) would refer to an arch bridge or an archdam. The proper pronunciation would be アーチエネミー (Āchienemī) in katakana.

Archenemy

Pronunciation

See also