Synonyms of envy

envy 1 of 2

noun

ˈen-vē 

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

• jealousy
• hatred
• resentment
• covetousness
• enviousness
• invidiousness
• animosity
• enmity
• malice
• green-eyed monster
• ill will
• spitefulness
• maliciousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sympathy
• kindness
• goodwill
• benevolence

envy

2 of 2

verb

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

• resent
• begrudge
• want
• desire
• covet
• crave
• wish (for)
• long (for)
• die (for)
• hunger (for)
• lust (for or after)
• itch (for)
• ache (for)
• yen (for)
• thirst (for)
• yearn (for)
• jones (for)
• salivate
• hanker (for or after)
• pant (after)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of envy

Noun

Meet Jaeyong Park, the envy-inducing writer from South Korea, who sees every single show at the Venice Biennale. —Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 6 May 2026

Church’s combination of talent, affability, and fine manners eased his way into New York’s élite, sometimes inspiring envy among his painter friends. —Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026

Verb

Both women also purchased homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and maintain social lives my 20-something self would envy. —Lindsey Metrus, InStyle, 8 Apr. 2026

American strategy toward Caracas amounts to granting the recycled regime the international legitimacy that Maduro never enjoyed and that Chávez might well have envied. —Boris Muñoz, Time, 3 Apr. 2026

Phrases Containing envy

• green with envy