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
Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
As Oliver and his friends fawn (rather ridiculously) over Jamie’s ugly handmade sweater, Scola trains his camera on Matthew’s face, capturing shades of envy, quiet rage and panic.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2025
Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2025
TikTok’s near-magical algorithm, keeping users hooked on the app, is its secret power, and putting a price tag on such a valuable commodity, envied by every other social media app, is difficult.
—Clare Duffy, CNN, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Noun
Today the signaling of wealth has shifted from public-facing duties to efforts to provoke private envy.
—Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
As Oliver and his friends fawn (rather ridiculously) over Jamie’s ugly handmade sweater, Scola trains his camera on Matthew’s face, capturing shades of envy, quiet rage and panic.
—Natalia Winkelman, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
Willard didn’t envy Illinois coach Brad Underwood’s predicament against Maryland’s big men.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2025
TikTok’s near-magical algorithm, keeping users hooked on the app, is its secret power, and putting a price tag on such a valuable commodity, envied by every other social media app, is difficult.
—Clare Duffy, CNN, 19 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
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Playing boxer Jake LaMotta, Robert De Niro gave all of his mind and body to this portrait of a man destroyed by his anger, his jealousies, his pride, his retrograde notions of manhood.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
2 Mar. 2025
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Commonplace virtues turn toward vice: compassion veers toward deceit, attentive parenting toward either laxity or oppressiveness, friendship toward jealousy or contempt, sociability toward falsehood or cruelty.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In many cases, Bungalow Belt dwellers resented being stereotyped for expressing fears for which others are given a pass.—
Ron Grossman,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 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.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Democrats, blinded by their hatred of him, have ignored this.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
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Debra Messing, who has produced a new documentary on (horseshoe-theory) antisemitism called October 8, has been one of Hollywood’s few intensely admirable exceptions, calling out anti-Jewish hatred with a fierce constancy over the past 16 months.—
Steven Zeitchik,
The Hollywood Reporter,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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From a psychological perspective, Saunders-Waldron highlighted how repeatedly ignoring someone's boundaries can breed resentment and emotional fatigue which can explain the woman's stance.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
9 Mar. 2025
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Fueled by years of resentment, Dante targets Dom’s family and closest friends, forcing the crew to scatter across the globe in a desperate bid to survive.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to envy
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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