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
Relevance
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
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
Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025
The symbiotic relationship between universities and the federal government, which subsidizes tuition and funds research, has created growth and innovation that is the envy of the world.
—Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 3 June 2025
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
Noun
Internet Reactions TikTokers flooded the comments section, sharing a mix of admiration, envy, and cultural observations.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025
The symbiotic relationship between universities and the federal government, which subsidizes tuition and funds research, has created growth and innovation that is the envy of the world.
—Allison Schrager, Twin Cities, 3 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
-
Turn your jealousy into admiration and use it to fuel your ambition in a positive way.—
Mekishana Pierre Published,
EW.com,
16 June 2025
-
Someone once told me that jealousy is fine, and envy is bad.—
Andrew Goldman,
Vulture,
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 case isn’t grounded in facts or law; it’s fueled by resentment.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
10 June 2025
-
No one wants to carry bad vibes and resentment around anymore, so the energy will be pleasant and fortuitous.—
Lisa Stardust,
Vogue,
10 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share