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
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Recent Examples of envy
Doug Myers, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Her siblings swelled with pride, and perhaps a dash of envy.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
Lee Cowan, CBS News, 3 May 2026
That’s a schedule most touring musicians would envy — and Pearl’s the one playing the keyboard.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for envy
Noun
This future state park will grant generations of Texans with a deeper understanding of the land that helps make our state the natural envy of the world.
—Doug Myers, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Her siblings swelled with pride, and perhaps a dash of envy.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
Verb
Tom Coyne has one of those jobs most would envy.
—Lee Cowan, CBS News, 3 May 2026
That’s a schedule most touring musicians would envy — and Pearl’s the one playing the keyboard.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
-
Ultimately, jealousy turned into power.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
-
What tends to damage relationships is not jealousy itself, but the inability to acknowledge it honestly.—
Meehika Barua,
Time,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Dern replaced Carter as some sort of actress perhaps resenting her elder-stateswoman status.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
27 May 2026
-
Indigenous people who were not enslaved resented being treated like slaves (colonists felt the same).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Monday showed why the Middle East’s generational hatreds are so often treacherous for American presidents.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
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More deeply, San Diego’s Muslims have been puzzling over the roots of the hatred that sent two young men into a holy place with the intent to commit mass murder.—
Roxana Popescu,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Noun
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The entrance to the Backrooms is discovered by Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is living inside his low-budget furniture store after a brutal divorce, nursing a bitter resentment to how things have turned out.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
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After years of resentment and collateral damage, Cassie and Lexi finally make peace and get the hell out of Dodge—each pursuing her own artistic ambitions, but no longer trapped by the same family dysfunction and exploitative professional settings.—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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