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 result is a comedy that’s both precise and unhinged, absurdly funny yet emotionally true — a portrait of youthful ambition and friendship that makes someone slightly older both grateful to not be that young anymore and just a little envious of those who are. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2025

Phoebe Buffay would be envious. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2025

Heisenberg was particularly envious of the American cyclotrons that would be used as one of the means to enrich uranium. —Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025

Pizzi has heard from parents of kids in other football leagues who are envious of the changes that Riverdale has made, wishing their school would do the same. —Alana Semuels, Time, 20 Oct. 2025

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