envy 1 of 2

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

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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

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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
Noun
We were created to be the envy of the world, a beacon of hope and ingenuity for other nations to follow. Val Demings, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 May 2025 Overcoming envy and sexism and balancing a career and motherhood, Walters reached the pinnacle of her profession and stayed there, a story explored in the new documentary Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything. Matthew Carey, Deadline, 10 June 2025
Verb
The latter posted her Met Gala look three times to her 87.2 million Instagram followers, garnering a total of almost 10 million likes and 47 million replies, numbers any brand would envy. Laurie Brookins, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2025 Together, these provide a wealth of data that any neuroscientist would envy — analogous to a perfect map of a person’s brain, along with separate electrodes to monitor the activity of each neuron. Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
  • Someone once told me that jealousy is fine, and envy is bad.
    Andrew Goldman, Vulture, 16 June 2025
  • Turn your jealousy into admiration and use it to fuel your ambition in a positive way.
    Mekishana Pierre Published, EW.com, 16 June 2025
Verb
  • Seward, for his part, resented Sumner’s influence on the president.
    Zaakir Tameez June 11, Literary Hub, 11 June 2025
  • However, one of her mentees did not take Lauren’s criticism well and began to resent the feedback.
    Janine Schindler, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
Noun
  • There is a strong sense of hatred toward Netanyahu, whose calls for the Iranian public to take this opportunity to rise up and overthrow their leaders are seemingly falling flat.
    NBC News, NBC news, 19 June 2025
  • Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 16 June 2025
Noun
  • This helps prevent confusion, resentment, or unrealistic assumptions—especially under stress.
    Raul Elizalde, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
  • Unrealistic demands can lead to burnout, resentment and a loss of productivity across the entire team.
    Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 24 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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