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View synonyms for envy

envy

[ en-vee ]

noun

, plural en·vies.
  1. a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.

    Synonyms: enviousness

  2. an object of such feeling:

    Her intelligence made her the envy of her classmates.

  3. Obsolete. ill will.


verb (used with object)

, en·vied, en·vy·ing.
  1. to regard (a person or thing) with envy:

    She envies you for your success.

    I envy your writing ability.

    He envies her the position she has achieved in her profession.

    Synonyms: resent

verb (used without object)

, en·vied, en·vy·ing.
  1. Obsolete. to be affected with envy.

envy

/ ˈɛnvɪ /

noun

  1. a feeling of grudging or somewhat admiring discontent aroused by the possessions, achievements, or qualities of another
  2. the desire to have for oneself something possessed by another; covetousness
  3. an object of envy


verb

  1. to be envious of (a person or thing)

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Confusables Note

Envy and jealousy are very close in meaning. Envy denotes a longing to possess something awarded to or achieved by another: to feel envy when a friend inherits a fortune. Jealousy, on the other hand, denotes a feeling of resentment that another has gained something that one more rightfully deserves: to feel jealousy when a coworker receives a promotion. Jealousy also refers to anguish caused by fear of unfaithfulness.

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Derived Forms

  • ˈenvyingly, adverb
  • ˈenvier, noun

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Other Words From

  • en·vy·ing·ly adverb
  • un·en·vied adjective
  • un·en·vy·ing adjective
  • un·en·vy·ing·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of envy1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun envie, from Old French, from Latin invidia, equivalent to invid(us) “envious” (derivative of invidēre “to envy”) + -ia abstract noun suffix; verb derivative of the noun; invidious, -y 3( def )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of envy1

C13: via Old French from Latin invidia, from invidēre to eye maliciously, from in- ² + vidēre to see

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. green with envy, full of envy; covetous:

    When my friends saw the enormous rock on my engagement ring, they were all green with envy.

More idioms and phrases containing envy

see green with envy .

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Synonym Study

Envy, begrudge, covet refer to one's attitude toward the possessions or attainments of others. To envy is to feel resentful and unhappy because someone else possesses, or has achieved, what one wishes oneself to possess, or to have achieved: to envy the wealthy, a woman's beauty, an honest man's reputation. To begrudge is to be unwilling that another should have the possessions, honors, or credit that person deserves: to begrudge a man a reward for heroism. To covet is to long jealously to possess what someone else possesses: I covet your silverware.

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Example Sentences

I envy my refusenik friends their steadfast commitments to stay in, and contentment in doing so.

Europeans seem to find them exotic, an odd case of culture-envy in reverse.

I don’t think that happened in the ‘90s and the ‘80s and I wonder if there’s a purity to that that I envy sometimes.

I had found the one and only thing in the entire universe for which Ben Bradlee might envy me: my age.

I envy Muslims their practice of regular and genuine prayer.

It is then we make him our friend, which sets us above the envy and contempt of wicked men.

Consult not with him that layeth a snare for thee, and hide thy counsel from them that envy thee.

She expatiated on his father's character; on the envy of his rivals; and dated his fall to their ambition alone.

She had a graceful figure, and the slender foot below her white piqué skirt was at once the envy and admiration of Aix-les-Bains.

Like his father, he had to bear all that Spanish envy and Spanish malignity could inflict.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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