envy

1 of 2

noun

en·vy ˈen-vē

plural envies

Synonyms of envy next

: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage

obsolete : malice

: an object of envious notice or feeling

his new car made him the envy of his friends

envy

2 of 2

verb

envied; envying

transitive verb

: to feel envy toward or on account of

obsolete : begrudge

intransitive verb

obsolete : to feel or show envy

envyingly

ˈen-vē-iŋ-lē

adverb

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Jealousy vs. Envy

Depending on who you ask, jealousy and envy are either exact synonyms, totally different words, or near-synonyms with some degree of semantic overlap and some differences. It is difficult to make the case, based on the evidence of usage that we have, for either of the first two possibilities. Both jealousy and envy are often used to indicate that a person is covetous of something that someone else has, but jealousy carries the particular sense of “zealous vigilance” and tends to be applied more exclusively to feelings of protectiveness regarding one’s own advantages or attachments. In the domain of romance, it is more commonly found than envy. If you were to say “your salt-shaker collection fills me with jealousy,” most people would take it to mean much the same thing as “your salt-shaker collection fills me with envy.” But if someone made a flirtatious comment to your partner, you would likely say that it caused you jealousy, not envy.

Example Sentences

Noun my envy of his success Their exotic vacations inspired envy in their friends. We watched with envy as the yacht slid past us. Verb I envy you for your large group of friends. I envy the way you've made so many friends.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The interview at the center was conducted by Henri Renaud, a French jazz pianist, whose evident idolization and envy of Monk distorts any effort at an honest conversation. —

Harmony Holiday, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2023 The $30 billion in uninsured deposits is seen as a vote of confidence in First Republic, whose banking franchise before the past week was often the envy of the industry. —

Ken Sweet, ajc, 16 Mar. 2023 The $30 billion in uninsured deposits is seen as a vote of confidence in First Republic, whose banking franchise before the past week was often the envy of the industry. —

Ken Sweet, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Mar. 2023 American post-secondary education is the envy of the world. —

Joe Pitts, National Review, 24 Feb. 2023 Since the first Iron Man ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios has been the envy of Hollywood. —

Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2023 Over 2003-11, Catalonia’s regional film hub was the envy of Europe. —

John Hopewell, Variety, 16 Feb. 2023 At this rate, U.S. universities may not be the envy of the world for much longer. —

WSJ, 9 Feb. 2023 Beyond jealousy or envy, that show rose me from the dead and gave me my marching orders to raise the bar on Devo in a do-or-die effort. —

Liza Lentini, SPIN, 16 Dec. 2022

Verb

Younger me used to envy people who seemed able to put down deep roots in one place. —

Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Dec. 2020 She feels surrounded by people who either resent her, envy her, or want something from her. —

Jennifer Wilson, The New Republic, 2 Sep. 2021 Good fiction can raise questions about the past in a way that historians can only envy. —

Beth Py-lieberman, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Nov. 2022 While DeSantis’s restrictive approach could be a gamble in a national campaign, many Republicans seem to envy not only his refusal to engage with journalists on their terms but also his ability to get away with it. —

Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022 The Bengals have a receiving corps to envy, with slot receiver Tyler Boyd hauling in 50 catches for 690 yards, 50 more receiving yards than the Patriots’ top receiver, Jakobi Meyers (640). —

Chad Finn, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Dec. 2022 Residents of the United Kingdom have universal health care, The Great British Baking Show, and, soon, something else for the rest of the world to envy: daily third-party ratings for Netflix programs. —

Vulture, 12 Oct. 2022 All this won the director the type of appeal any politician would envy. —

Michael Kazin, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2022 Putting his team in a position that the Sox and 27 other teams are left to envy. —

Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'envy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English envie, from Anglo-French, from Latin invidia, from invidus envious, from invidēre to look askance at, envy, from in- + vidēre to see — more at wit

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of envy was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century