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
Examples 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
Byjeffrey Mervis, science.org, 16 Oct. 2024
Overall, the post-Covid U.S. economy has continued to be the envy of most industrialized nations.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 10 Oct. 2024
Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2024
Embarking on a luxurious retirement—international travel, a new home here or there—was its own status symbol, something to be envied by those who couldn’t afford to maintain their lifestyles without a regular paycheck.
—Christina Binkley, Robb Report, 5 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for envy 
Noun
Unfettered international collaborations have helped make U.S. academic research the envy of the world.
—Byjeffrey Mervis, science.org, 16 Oct. 2024
Overall, the post-Covid U.S. economy has continued to be the envy of most industrialized nations.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 10 Oct. 2024
Verb
But perhaps this look represents the final level of glamorous living: a state of not trying to, but still always being envied.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2024
Embarking on a luxurious retirement—international travel, a new home here or there—was its own status symbol, something to be envied by those who couldn’t afford to maintain their lifestyles without a regular paycheck.
—Christina Binkley, Robb Report, 5 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
-
However, the Penguin’s murderous jealousy towards his brothers is surely a bad sign for Victor (Rhenzy Feliz), who shared a dance with Oz’s mother before she was abducted.Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
-
Not all dogs will experience jealousy around babies; in fact, some may feel protective of them from the very first day.David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Some is anchored in a class identity battle resenting elitist institutions and income disparity leading to widespread feelings of injustice.Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 21 Nov. 2024
-
Oz treats both literal and figurative families as either responsibilities to be resented or props to be arranged for his benefit; The Penguin ends with Oz, his goal finally in sight, re-creating those cycles of violence and outdoing his own brutality.Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Years of mud-slinging would follow and their hatred for each other seemed to only intensify.Kyle Eustice, SPIN, 21 Nov. 2024
-
Tribalism forms connections based on ignorance and shared hatred.Dan Berger, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
This means asking them to let go of any anger and resentment toward you, but don’t force anything.Hylke Faber, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
-
The left-populist meta-narrative that would address those resentments hasn’t quite caught on.Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
Articles Related to envy
Thesaurus Entries Near envy
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share