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View synonyms for envious

envious

[ en-vee-uhs ]

adjective

  1. full of, feeling, or expressing envy:

    envious of a person's success; an envious attack.

    Synonyms: covetous, jealous, resentful

  2. Archaic.


envious

/ ˈɛnvɪəs /

adjective

  1. feeling, showing, or resulting from envy
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈenviously, adverb
  • ˈenviousness, noun
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Other Words From

  • envi·ous·ly adverb
  • envi·ous·ness noun
  • non·envi·ous adjective
  • non·envi·ous·ly adverb
  • non·envi·ous·ness noun
  • over·envi·ous adjective
  • over·envi·ous·ly adverb
  • over·envi·ous·ness noun
  • quasi-envi·ous adjective
  • quasi-envi·ous·ly adverb
  • un·envi·ous adjective
  • un·envi·ous·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of envious1

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French envieus < Latin invidiōsus invidious
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Word History and Origins

Origin of envious1

C13: from Anglo-Norman, ultimately from Latin invidiōsus full of envy, invidious ; see envy
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Example Sentences

He attended the prestigious Vienna Academy of Fine Arts but criticized the city, claiming that “everybody is envious of me and deceitful.”

I’m envious, but I want it to do well.

"And you almost become slightly envious when you hear people have had their call, but you work through that."

From BBC

The envious feeling watching his competitors celebrate, posing together in the traditional manner with their national flags held above their heads.

“Nazar” is an Arabic word that refers to the concept of the “evil eye,” an envious glare believed to cause harm to those it falls on.

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More About Envious

What does envious mean?

Envious means feeling, full of, or expressing envy—a mostly negative feeling of desire for something that someone else has and you do not.

Envy is not a good feeling—it can be described as a mix of admiration and discontent. But it’s not necessarily malicious. Envious is very similar in meaning to jealous. However, jealous usually implies a deeper resentment, perhaps because you feel that you deserve the thing more than the other person, or that it is unfair that they have it.

Envious is often followed by the word of and the person or thing that’s the object of envy, as in I must admit that I’m envious of her talent. 

Example: Other people’s perfectly curated social media feeds often cause us to feel envious, but we need to keep in mind that they don’t show the whole story of what someone’s life is like—only the highlights.

Where does envious come from?

The first records of the word envious come from the 1200s. It comes from the Latin invidia and ultimately derives from the Latin verb invidēre, meaning “to envy” or, more poetically, “to eye maliciously.”

Being envious often involves eyeing other people’s qualities or possessions, especially when they are better or more plentiful than the ones you have. Envy is one of the so-called seven deadly sins and has long been considered one of the vices that can lead people to do bad things. Still, most people are thought to be envious at one time or another. Enviousness can lead to bitterness, but it doesn’t have to. You can be envious of your friend’s success and still be happy for them. When you stop being happy for them and start to resent them for it, that’s being jealous.

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What are some other forms related to envious?

  • enviousness (noun)
  • enviously (adverb)
  • envy (noun)

What are some synonyms for envious?

What are some words that share a root or word element with envious

What are some words that often get used in discussing envious?

What are some words envious may be commonly confused with?

How is envious used in real life?

Most people feel envious occasionally, but they usually only admit it when it’s not so serious.

 

 

Try using envious!

Is envious used correctly in the following sentence?

All the other interns were envious of me because I was the only one who got my own desk.

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