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
Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
Growing your sports empire in a way that should be the envy of your rivals.
—Greg Cote
may 7, Miami Herald, 7 May 2026
Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
Screenwriters secretly envy book authors for their intellectual prestige and creative control, and authors secretly dream of working in Hollywood.
—Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for envy
Noun
Just be prepared to share your secret ingredient with the neighborhood—they'll be green with envy at first bloom.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
Growing your sports empire in a way that should be the envy of your rivals.
—Greg Cote
may 7, Miami Herald, 7 May 2026
Verb
But really, what these friends envied most was Petrarch’s fame.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
Screenwriters secretly envy book authors for their intellectual prestige and creative control, and authors secretly dream of working in Hollywood.
—Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
-
OpenAI countered that Musk is driven by jealousy and regret.—
Anisha Sircar,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
-
The messages detailed Hernandez’s jealousy over Burke’s involvement with other women and included threats to publicly reveal details about their relationship.—
Laura Payne,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
In a nutshell, Emilia resents her dad for decades of poor behavior, including a drinking problem that Martínez, who’s been sober for several years now, seems incapable of acknowledging.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
-
But perhaps the issue isn’t the seasonal reset itself, but rather the outdated rules many people have come to resent.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Many exiles, however, disagreed with that view and said the incident had only renewed their hatred for Castro.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
20 May 2026
-
America remains the only large country in history where Jews have become fully equal citizens under a constitutional order strong enough, so far, to withstand waves of hatred and scapegoating.—
Michael W. Sonnenfeldt,
The Atlantic,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
Rather than silently internalizing tension, partners who processed small relational strains together appeared better able to maintain emotional connection and prevent resentment from accumulating.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
-
Wilde and Seth Rogen play longtime marrieds harboring a laundry list of resentments who host their upstairs neighbors (Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton) for an evening of fun.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
