adversary
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 12, 2021 is:
adversary \AD-ver-sair-ee\ noun
Adversary is a word for an enemy or opponent.
// The adversaries met at the negotiating table again, hoping to reach an agreement.
Examples:
"Large-scale special effects and intrepid derring-do are wedded to themes of clan solidarity, compassion toward adversaries and contrition for past misdeeds in director Cate Shortland's Marvel Comics-derived action adventure." — The Arlington (Virginia) Catholic Herald, 2 Aug. 2021
Did you know?
Adversary comes from Latin advertere, meaning "to turn toward." The vertere of advertere means "to turn" and is the source of a number of English words. Along with obvious derivatives like inadvertent and adverse are some surprises, including anniversary, vertebra, and prose (this last coming by way of a Latin contraction of a form of the verb provertere, meaning "to turn forward").