envy

1 of 2

noun

en·​vy ˈen-vē How to pronounce envy (audio)
plural envies
1
: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage
2
obsolete : malice
3
: an object of envious notice or feeling
his new car made him the envy of his friends

envy

2 of 2

verb

envied; envying

transitive verb

1
: to feel envy toward or on account of
2
obsolete : begrudge

intransitive verb

obsolete : to feel or show envy
envyingly adverb

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Jealousy vs. Envy

Depending on who you ask, jealousy and envy are either exact synonyms, totally different words, or near-synonyms with some degree of semantic overlap and some differences. It is difficult to make the case, based on the evidence of usage that we have, for either of the first two possibilities. Both jealousy and envy are often used to indicate that a person is covetous of something that someone else has, but jealousy carries the particular sense of “zealous vigilance” and tends to be applied more exclusively to feelings of protectiveness regarding one’s own advantages or attachments. In the domain of romance, it is more commonly found than envy. If you were to say “your salt-shaker collection fills me with jealousy,” most people would take it to mean much the same thing as “your salt-shaker collection fills me with envy.” But if someone made a flirtatious comment to your partner, you would likely say that it caused you jealousy, not envy.

Examples of envy in a Sentence

Noun my envy of his success Their exotic vacations inspired envy in their friends. We watched with envy as the yacht slid past us. Verb I envy you for your large group of friends. I envy the way you've made so many friends.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Iger’s first 15-year run as CEO made Disney the envy of the entertainment industry, with killer brands and unrivaled box office success. Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 And the swift and almost miraculous recovery of the U.S. economy has been the envy of the world. Abha Bhattarai, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 The old-school drink mix dissolves into a dye that will make your eggs the envy of the Easter egg hunt. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 6 Feb. 2024 That changes this year as the Rams hold the No. 19 overall pick, and overall, their cap situation is the envy of the majority of their rivals. Jay Paris, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Israel developed world-class tanks, pioneering tank-protection methods, and air defense systems that are the envy of the world. Shashank Joshi, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 It’s also been a perennial source of envy, mockery and contempt. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024 Like went home one afternoon a loser and came back the envy of everyone. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 7 Feb. 2024 Anyone with an iPhone can track movements on Find My Friends, get vacation envy on Instagram, feel FOMO on Snap, and have career envy via LinkedIn. Jane Thier, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2024
Verb
In other words, Paulson has the time, wealth, and resources to build her downlines and to present a façade of luxury and success that other sellers might envy and want to emulate. Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024 Two questions were left unanswered by the otherwise exhaustive Cambridge monographs: Was the blaze the result of an accident, or of an attack by rivals who may have envied the residents’ wealth? Franz Lidz, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024 During his meteoric rise in the movie business, Spielberg was admired, envied and dismissed in equal measure. Brent Lang, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 Israel has deployed cutting-edge drones, one of the world’s most advanced armored personnel carriers (the Eitan), and an artificial intelligence system (Gospel) capable of identifying at least 100 potential targets per day—all capabilities that would be envied by larger and better-resourced armies. Shashank Joshi, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 This requires leaders to recognize and address the unique needs of high performers, foster self-selection into effective teams, avoid win-lose dynamics, resist succumbing to envy and social comparisons and ensure rewards that match value creation. Rajshree Agarwal, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 Putin could only envy Navalny’s ability to mobilize Russians. Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024 With approval ratings that any sitting president would envy, Bukele has become an inspiration for hard-line crackdowns on crime elsewhere in Latin America. Reuters, NBC News, 30 Jan. 2024 But envy aside, Brittany Mahomes has been called out for rude behavior before. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'envy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English envie, from Anglo-French, from Latin invidia, from invidus envious, from invidēre to look askance at, envy, from in- + vidēre to see — more at wit

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of envy was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near envy

Cite this Entry

“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envy. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

envy

1 of 2 noun
en·​vy ˈen-vē How to pronounce envy (audio)
plural envies
1
: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage or possession enjoyed by another and the desire to possess the same thing
2
: an object of envy
she was the envy of all her friends

envy

2 of 2 verb
envied; envying
: to feel envy toward or on account of
envier noun
envyingly adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on envy

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