nemesis

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“
In recent years President Hugo Chávez has become Washington's ultimate Latin American nemesis, with the Venezuelan leader striving to bedevil the U.S. at every possible opportunity.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun A source of harm or ruin: Uncritical trust is my nemesis.
  2. noun Retributive justice in its execution or outcome: To follow the proposed course of action is to invite nemesis.
  3. noun An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome.
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Examples (50)

  • Indeed, the scientists named their nemesis: the Sea Shepherd, the principal vessel of the —  Science News / Features, Blog Entries, Column Entries, Issues, News Items and Book Reviews
  • As for their nemesis, the Moja, you're free to hate them all you like.
  • That's why his arch-nemesis is a schizoid version of himself, for God's sake, the metaphor isn't that hard to follow. —  The Hurting
  • Julie Ann Nevill is frighteningly effective as his nemesis, the sinister Cardinal Inquisitor, using a crabbed posture and sibilant voice to convey the terrors of interrogation. —  StarTribune.com rss feed
  • The Phoenix Suns: They had another one of those "close but no cigar" losses to their arch-nemesis, the Spurs, to finish 0-4 on their four-game road trip. —  Basketbawful
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

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nemesis:   Nemesis
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Greek, retribution, the goddess Nemesis, from nemein, to allot; see nem- in Indo-European roots.
 

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