nemesis

[ nem-uh-sis ]

/ ˈnɛm ə sɪs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR nemesis ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural nem·e·ses [nem-uh-seez]. /ˈnɛm əˌsiz/.

something that a person cannot conquer, achieve, etc.: The performance test proved to be my nemesis.

an opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.

(initial capital letter)Classical Mythology. the goddess of divine retribution.

an agent or act of retribution or punishment.

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Origin of nemesis

<Latin <Greek némesis literally, a dealing out, verbid of némein to dispense (justice); see -sis

SYNONYMS FOR nemesis

1 Waterloo.

4 downfall, undoing, ruin, Waterloo.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR nemesis ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby nemesis

Nemean Games, Nemean lion, Nemerov, nemertean, nemesia, nemesis, nemine contradicente, nemine dissentiente, nemo, nemo me impune lacessit, nemophila

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for nemesis

The Third Reich met its nemesis as much here as it had—albeit in far greater numbers—at Stalingrad.
The Deadly Trap Behind D-Day’s Beaches|Clive Irving|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Neither her name nor her nemesis are among the slurred words I can make out.
My Night at the NSFW Oscars|Richard Abowitz|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The nemesis that emerges most potently is that of reality TV.
Polar Explorer vs. Reality TV Crew: Tim Jarvis in the Footsteps of Shackleton|Darrell Hartman|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So watching him get abruptly fired in order to prove a point to nemesis Liz Lemon was heartbreaking.
Pam Beesly, Kitty Sanchez & More TV Administrative Assistants (VIDEO)|Molly Taylor|April 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Roth's sentences are so good, from Goodbye, Columbus to Nemesis, but the force and beauty of his late work merits special praise.
Writers Pick Their Favorite Philip Roth Novel|The Daily Beast|December 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I suppose it is a sort of nemesis of wit; the skidding of a wheel in the height of its speed.
George Bernard Shaw|Gilbert K. Chesterton
He had not been made soft by the nemesis that laid him by the heels.
The Prisoner|Alice Brown
If that mechanic had read the Greek tragedians he would have known that Nemesis must needs come soon.
Through East Anglia in a Motor Car|J. E. (James Edmund) Vincent
And if we ever feel that we suffer unjustly—well, Nemesis, the slow but the sure, will make it up to us in the end.
Gods and Heroes|R. E. Francillon
Thus equipped, the Nemesis proceeded on her voyage, and was found to derive great assistance from this new contrivance.
Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843|William Hutcheon Hall

British Dictionary definitions for nemesis

Nemesis

/ (ˈnɛmɪsɪs) /

noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)

Greek myth the goddess of retribution and vengeance

(sometimes not capital) any agency of retribution and vengeance

Word Origin for Nemesis

C16: via Latin from Greek: righteous wrath, from némein to distribute what is due

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for nemesis