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
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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
Joseph Earl Thomas, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Belinda Lindsey’s spa treatments, featured on the third season of the HBO series The White Lotus, kicked up plenty of envy among viewers—dampened by the hail of gunfire foreshadowed during the opening episode.
—R. Daniel Foster, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2025
Jesse Eisenberg — who wrote, directed, and stars opposite Culkin — is the ostensible protagonist David, Benji’s uptight, socially awkward cousin who envies and pities him in equal measure, but A Real Pain is Culkin’s showcase.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Noun
But that script, much like my envy of people who actually had those mothers and grandmothers, has failed to save us from anything.
—Joseph Earl Thomas, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Belinda Lindsey’s spa treatments, featured on the third season of the HBO series The White Lotus, kicked up plenty of envy among viewers—dampened by the hail of gunfire foreshadowed during the opening episode.
—R. Daniel Foster, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Verb
No more participation trophies for Bill Plaschke! Los Angeles’ lovable loser nailed it by predicting the Eagles’ big win, ending his losing tradition that envied the Benoit Benjamin Clippers of the 1980s!
—Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2025
Jesse Eisenberg — who wrote, directed, and stars opposite Culkin — is the ostensible protagonist David, Benji’s uptight, socially awkward cousin who envies and pities him in equal measure, but A Real Pain is Culkin’s showcase.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 23 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
-
Love, hate, longing, jealousy, deception, passion, confusion, humor, loyalty and pain make for great drama.—
Jeryl Brunner,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
-
The depictions of jealousy, vanity, and desire to main power provide a great opportunity to have real conversations with kids about these topics.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Bethany is a big, flashing signal of gentrification; Uche’s other tenants have every reason to resent her.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Apr. 2025
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So while other Florida voters are entitled to resent Trump’s meddling, DeSantis doesn’t have a leg to stand on in complaining about it.—
Orlando Sentinel,
Orlando Sentinel,
8 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
That ecstatic communal experience is a glorious moment of freedom for oppressed people, most of them living hand-to-mouth in an environment of hatred and exploitation.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
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In fact, her personal hatred of gripping challenges even served as her Survivor hot take below.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Meanwhile, in their first Netflix series, Meghan expressed her resentment over that being the big takeaway from the Oprah interview instead of her mental health revelations.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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Without enough time to truly know each other’s habits, values and communication styles, small annoyances can snowball into deeper resentment.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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