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foe

Noun
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An enemy or opponent. It is a literary or old-fashioned word for someone you fight against.

Detailed Definition
A foe is an enemy, especially in war or conflict. Hardy repeats the word to show how quickly the speaker reduces the other man to an enemy, even though they are very similar. The word is still understandable, but it is more literary and old-fashioned than everyday speech.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Just so: my foe of course he was” names an enemy or opponent; “My foe stood waiting where the bridge was narrow”; “The speaker calls doubt a secret foe”; “Even the winter wind becomes a foe”
Additional Notes
The word 'foe' in the quoted line is a literary, old-fashioned synonym for enemy that some readers may pause over.; Found in the poem, The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy
Also Known As
enemy adversary opponent Boche
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