Learn Arabic › A2 › عَدُوّ
عَدُوّ
enemy /ʕaˈduww/
nounA2#883 most common
Also: foe, adversary
Example sentences
هُوَ عَدُوِّي.
He is my enemy.
الْعَدُوُّ قَوِيٌّ.
The enemy is strong.
لَا تَثِقْ بِكَلَامِ عَدُوِّكَ.
Do not trust your enemy's words.
هَزَمَ الْجَيْشُ الْعَدُوَّ فِي الْمَعْرَكَةِ.
The army defeated the enemy in the battle.
مِنْ أَخْطَرِ الْأُمُورِ أَنْ تَسْتَهِينَ بِعَدُوٍّ ذَكِيٍّ.
One of the most dangerous things is to underestimate a clever enemy.
قِيلَ قَدِيمًا: اِحْفَظْ صَدِيقَكَ وَاحْذَرْ عَدُوَّكَ، فَالْحَذَرُ يَحْفَظُ الْأَرْوَاحَ.
It was said long ago: keep your friend and beware your enemy, for caution preserves lives.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عَدُوٌّ | أَعْداءٌ |
| Genitive | عَدُوٍّ | أَعْداءٍ |
| Accusative | عَدُوًّا | أَعْداءً |
| Vocative | يا عَدُوُّ | يا أَعْداءُ |
Word family
عَداوةenmity, hostility
عُدْوانaggression
عَدُوّةfemale enemy
اِعْتَدىto attack, transgress
مُعادٍhostile
Etymology
عَدُوّ comes from the Semitic root ع-د-و, whose core sense is to pass beyond, run, or transgress. From the idea of overstepping a limit grew the sense of acting with hostility, and so the noun came to mean enemy. Related forms include عَداوة (enmity) and عُدْوان (aggression). The word is old and well attested across classical Arabic.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free