as in jealousy
a painful awareness of another's possessions or advantages and a desire to have them too
their envy of their neighbor's fancy home threatened to wreck their friendship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to resent
to have a resentful awareness of and desire for (another's possessions or advantages) or to feel resentment toward (someone) over possessions or advantages
her coworkers envied her chummy relationship with the senior vice president they envied him because he didn't have to work for a living
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of envy
Rory Doherty, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
The Times has become the envy of news publishers by building a digital subscription bundle with games, recipes and reviews alongside core reporting and commentary.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
That’s a streak of definite interest figures that any studio can envy.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Noun
In the play, Tesman is described as portly and characterized as distinctly dim, and feels too soft to even foster real, passionate envy of Lovborg.
—Rory Doherty, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
The Times has become the envy of news publishers by building a digital subscription bundle with games, recipes and reviews alongside core reporting and commentary.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
Conclusion In conclusion, ServiceNow continues to be a leading software provider, with steady revenue growth, strong cash flow, and margins that many enterprise software competitors would envy.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
That’s a streak of definite interest figures that any studio can envy.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
-
But apart from Berger ending things with Carrie via Post-it, there’s nothing more icky than a boyfriend plagued by jealousy over his partner’s success.—
Daniel Rodgers,
Vogue,
10 Nov. 2025
-
This could look like confronting jealousy in a relationship, realizing a friendship has turned competitive or renegotiating a partnership where one person holds the reins.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Meester appears on a season 2 episode as Abby, a childhood pal whom Joanne still resents for cutting the hair of her American Girl Doll.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The action then jumps seventeen years into the future, where Morgan and Chris’s daughter, Clara (Mckenna Grace), is now a teen-ager who resents her mom’s protectiveness and idolizes her freewheeling aunt.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
My darling, hatred takes the beauty away.—
Tracee Ellis Ross,
Glamour,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Muschietti touched on this in his movies — the bullying of Mike Hanlon and the hate-crime murder of Adrian Mellon — including the way Pennywise fosters and foments the hatred already lurking in the hearts of Derry’s citizens.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
As Charlotte explains, barely suppressing her resentment, Leroy is concerned that her commitment to the cause could stall his ascent at work.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
-
And interestingly, there’s no resentment between the obsessive and the expressive explorers, Brown said.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share