The phrase "supposed enemy" is commonly used in written English.
It means someone or something that is believed or assumed to be an enemy, but may not actually be one. Example: The government's supposed enemy, a neighboring country, turned out to be a valuable ally in the fight against terrorism.
But attempts to eliminate the supposed enemy have wholly failed.
"Flee, you idiot," he says, watching Jaime, his brother, his supposed enemy, who once saved him.
In recent months the Army has held training exercises with hundreds of troops, tanks, drones, missiles and armored vehicles clashing against a supposed enemy force with similar abilities.
Far from the cradle of Middle Eastern Islamist zealotry, she suggested, "Iran — the supposed enemy — is the one society that has gone through its extremist fervor and is coming out the other end.
At the time, villagers and the accused denied the charges, rights groups said the case was a misuse of anti-terrorism laws and lawyers said the case was deliberately being manipulated to make the government look tough against a supposed "enemy within".
The Times and Post also ran detailed stories looking at the inescapable morass into which this war will quickly turn, along with how "success" will likely be impossible given the myriad complexities at play – including the precarious Iraqi government coalition, our supposed enemy Bashir al-Assad in Syria and the double dealing and disinterest of many of the US's so-called allies in the region.
I work through the idiocies of my supposed enemies.
The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) is barbaric, murdering supposed enemies and cutting off hands and feet at random.
He passionately advocated executing aristocrats and moderates to save the Revolution from supposed enemies.
Ronald Reagan preferred "outlaw states"; under George W Bush, these supposed enemies became "states of concern".
But the crown prince was also sending a message to his supposed enemies.
