envious

adjective

en·​vi·​ous ˈen-vē-əs 

1

: feeling or showing envy

envious of their neighbor's new car

envious looks

2

archaic

a

: showing a desire to emulate : emulous

b

: highly desirable : enviable

enviously adverb

enviousness noun

Usage of Jealous and Envious

Some assert that only envious is correctly used to describe someone who feels or shows a very strong desire for something that belongs to someone else, but in truth both envious and jealous commonly carry this meaning. Jealous alone is used to describe someone who tends to suspect unfaithfulness.

a jealous lover

Synonyms of envious

• jealous

Examples of envious in a Sentence

a family that is envious of their neighbors' big house

Recent Examples on the Web

The type of retirement that many people would be envious of, these group of friends were experiencing in real-time. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026

While the house is bursting with artwork that would make most museum curators envious, Herman’s home is surprisingly humble, built on a tight budget from prosaic materials. — Marissa Gluck, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball coach Bill Self isn’t envious of football players and coaches from KU and Arizona State who recently traveled 4,386 and 5,200 miles, respectively, to play their 2026 Big 12 opener in London. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026

But many a Premier League team will be envious of the huge screens with 8 mm resolution, the best in the Big Ten. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

envious

adjective

en·​vi·​ous ˈen-vē-əs 

: feeling or showing envy

envious of a neighbor's good luck

an envious look

enviously adverb

enviousness noun