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
Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Cote said the only two defendants accused by Donlon of sharing motivations to take him down were Daughtry and Sheppard, who Donlon alleged were driven by envy and a desire to curry favor with the mayor.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Bright Simons, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
His ability to not only balance our budget but to turn a surplus while adding so many citizens is a model that should be applauded and envied.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for envy
Noun
Her daughter, Liza Pauley, recalled Rosalba as a skilled cook whose birria and pozole were the envy of her childhood friends.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Cote said the only two defendants accused by Donlon of sharing motivations to take him down were Daughtry and Sheppard, who Donlon alleged were driven by envy and a desire to curry favor with the mayor.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Verb
As the world’s sixth-largest producer, Ghana sits in a position most countries would envy.
—Bright Simons, semafor.com, 9 Feb. 2026
His ability to not only balance our budget but to turn a surplus while adding so many citizens is a model that should be applauded and envied.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
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Elsewhere in the interview, Maggie Gyllenhaal described her fascination with envy and having felt some latent feelings of jealousy toward her brother’s early movie stardom.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
28 Feb. 2026
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Season 2 saw the ladies battling love, heartbreak, motherhood, jealousy, and the full force of the English legal system.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In 1982, after Israel invaded Lebanon, Iranian agents cultivated ties among fellow Shia who resented Israel’s presence.—
Ron Kampeas,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2026
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But Ha’s character, Kwan, was invented for the series, and the game’s intense fandom resented the attempt to insert new side plots into the main narrative.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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White people hurl the N-word at them daily, accompanied by varying degrees of hatred, disgust and violence.—
Lorraine Ali,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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One on antisemitism and hatred and bigotry, and on that, that’s a black and white issue.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In the latter years of the Roman Republic, landowners amassed unprecedented riches while plebeians floundered, spawning resentment that infected many corners of society.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
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Scream 4’s greatest coup is in casting Emma Roberts, niece of one of the most famous actors of all time, which gives Jill’s resentment toward being born into her family a thrilling subtext.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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