The Term Frenemy - Essay Example

The Term Frenemy How do you describe a frenemy? The word is a combination of the terms friends and enemy. Noteworthy, literature, teen movies, and television shows are peppered with the word frenemy, thus it is commonly used by teens to define a peer. Reflecting on research, there are various definitions used to describe a frenemy. Regardless of the numerous definitions that define the term, it is understandable that the definitions are used to bring the same meaning. To begin with, frenemy refers to an individual who is apparently sociable with somebody but who is in reality competitive and aggressive (Bowman 1). Building on other definitions from the research, a frenemy defines a person who pretends to be a good friend, but is actually an enemy who should be avoided (Rozler & Lavinthal 88). In order to describe a frenemy in broad perspective, it is worth to compare and contrast the frenemy to related terms, consider the effect, describe negatively, show function and use narration, classify different types of the word, and examine the word’s derivation accordingly. A frenemy should never be mistaken for other terms such as best friends forever (Oxford English Dictionary). This is evident since best friends forever describe true friends, whilst frenemy defines an enemy although indirectly (*******). Given that the word is a combination of the terms friend and enemy, one can deduce that the term has similarities and differences relating to the two terms. In one extreme, a frenemy is not necessarily a bad person. This is a fact since majority of them are capable of being astonishing associates, just not with you. A frenemy is somebody you always hang out with, either accident or choice. It is worth noting that people end up hanging out with frenemies because they mistaken the person as a companion. This defines how we hand out with a frenemy by choice. On the contrary, people hang out with frenemies by accident, especially when they work with them. Building on the above discussion, one can deduce that the term brings different effects, though depending with the situation and the person. In that sense, a person can be your frenemy and find it easy sharing with him or her because of the role he or she plays in developing your life. At the same time, one can be your frenemy and you find it difficult sharing with her. There are various ways through which one can employ to tell whether someone is your frenemy. For instance, one can know he or she is your frenemy if you feel tense when thinking about the person. In other instances, you can tell if he or she is your frenemy if you cannot relax when around the person. Many are times people enjoy the company of their friends. However, whenever you are around someone and you do not enjoy his company, that person is a frenemy. It does not matter why the above things are true. It is likely that this person is competitive with you in everything you do in life (Bowman 1). Perhaps he or she is attempting to get in the last word and one-upping your every tale. Research records that the word can be classified in different forms. In other words, there are over five types of frenemies we can have. To start with, we have digital frenemy. No one considers this person your pal except for Facebook (************). Secondly, we have the live-in frenemy. You were originally pals before you moved in jointly and even for the duration of the first few months of cohabitation, however it turns out that she is ethically bankrupt and you hate to clean up after yourself, and so you just hate each other. Thirdly, we have competitive frenemy. To some extent, you would consider this person as a friend, if every hang out did not devolve into some pissing competition that leaves one party injured. Fallen angel frenemy: this person was initially your friend, but after that some disastrous falling out happened ago and at the present, too mature enough to spit on one another. Reluctant frenemy: sometimes it is tricky to tell or even realize if this person is your frenemy until you unknowingly condemn them to a mutual buddy (Oxford English Dictionary). Commonly known as social issues, social problems affect each society, small and great. Even in sparsely populated regions and relatively isolated, a group of people will come across social problems. The reason behind this is the fact that members of a society living together will have conflicts. It is almost impossible to keep away from them; even members living together don’t at all times get along without a glitch (Rozler & Lavinthal 89). On the entire though, in the event when social issue are mentioned, they have a tendency to refer to the challenges that affect members living together in a given society. The list of social issues is huge and not the same from region to region. However, it is worth to contemplate that most of the social problems that are common comprise unemployment, immigration, drugs, job security among others. However, the way people relate with others is increasingly becoming a major social challenge. Over the decades, we have only had two groups of people, that is, friends or enemies (Staff 1). Based on this fact, different events and triggered the need to classify another group of people who are not true friends, but pretend to be one of them. The formation of a group of people, classified as frenemies, therefore has defined its progress since the time the term was coiled. Works Cited Bowman, Alisa. How to tell a friend from a frenemy. Retrieved: http://www.projecthappilyeverafter.com/2009/02/how-to-tell-a-friend-from-a-frenemy/ DiMarco, Hayley. Frenemies: What to Do When Friends Turn Mean. California, Wadsworth Publishing, 2010. Print. Hohnberger, Jim. Facing Frenemy Fire. Prentice Hall. 2008. Print. Rozler, Jessica & Lavinthal, Andrea. Friend or Frenemy:? A guide to friends you need and the ones you do not. New York. McGraw-Hill Humanities. 2008. Print. Oxford English Dictionary online, draft entry, December 2008. Staff, eHarmony. Is your friend really a frenemy? Retrieved: http://www.eharmony.com/dating-advice/about-you/is-your-friend-really-a-frenemy/#.UYClDkq86bg Read More