NEMESIS (nemeses)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: nemeses   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Nemesis mean? 

• NEMESIS (noun)
  The noun NEMESIS has 2 senses:

1. (Greek mythology) the goddess of divine retribution and vengeance

2. something causing misery or death

  Familiarity information: NEMESIS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NEMESIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(Greek mythology) the goddess of divine retribution and vengeance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

Greek deity (a deity worshipped by the ancient Greeks)

Domain category:

Greek mythology (the mythology of the ancient Greeks)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something causing misery or death

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

bane; curse; nemesis; scourge

Context example:

the bane of my life

Hypernyms ("nemesis" is a kind of...):

affliction (a cause of great suffering and distress)

 Context examples 

There is the Nemesis of your slave philosophy.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Given the name Nemesis, this theoretical trouble maker has been proposed as a reason behind an apparent 27-million-year cycle of extinctions on Earth, including the one that saw off most of the dinosaurs.

(Our Sun Could Have Been Born With an Evil Twin Called "Nemesis", The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

There's no sign of Nemesis, but a long lost binary partner for our Sun could fit the bill.

(Our Sun Could Have Been Born With an Evil Twin Called "Nemesis", The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)