covet

cov·et

verb \ˈkə-vət\

Definition of COVET

transitive verb

1

: to wish for earnestly <covet an award>

2

: to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably

intransitive verb

: to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another

— cov·et·able \-və-tə-bəl\ adjective

— cov·et·er \-tər\ noun

— cov·et·ing·ly \-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

Examples of COVET

1. His religion warns against coveting material goods.
2. <I've been coveting that sleek sports car in the showroom for some time now.>
3. The oldest of the students, she had become a confidante of Fern's and she alone was allowed to call her by her first name. It was not a privilege the others coveted. —Edward P. Jones, The Known World, 2003
4. The only Commandment I'd breached, besides killing that bird with my air rifle, was that I had coveted Bobby Entrekin's electric train. It blew real smoke. Mine didn't. —Lewis Grizzard, Reader's Digest, January 1992
5. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. —Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876

Origin of COVET

Middle English coveiten, from Anglo-French coveiter, from Vulgar Latin *cupidietare, from Latin cupiditat-, cupiditas desire, from cupidus desirous, from cupere to desire

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to COVET

Synonyms

ache (for), desire, crave, desiderate, die (for), hanker (for or after), hunger (for), itch (for), jones (for) [slang], long (for), lust (for or after), pant (after), pine (for), repine (for), salivate (for), sigh (for), thirst (for), want, wish (for), yearn (for), yen (for)

Related Words

spoil (for); adore, delight (in), dig, enjoy, fancy, groove (on), like, love, relish, revel (in); favor, prefer; admire, appreciate, cherish, prize, treasure, value

Near Antonyms

abhor, abominate, despise, detest, execrate, hate, loathe; decline, refuse, reject, spurn

See Synonym Discussion at desire

Rhymes with COVET

lovat