Meaning & use
envy
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Meanings
noununcountable
An unhappy, resentful feeling you have when you want something that another person has.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: she felt envy; often followed by of or at.
Patterns
- envy of someone
- envy at something
- be green with envy
He watched his friend's new car with open envy.
Her success caused envy among her colleagues.
The neighbors were green with envy over the huge garden.
nounsingular
A person or thing that other people admire and want to have.
Grammar: Appears mostly in the phrase the envy of: it is the envy of the world.
Patterns
- the envy of someone
The city's transport system is the envy of the region.
With her talent, she was the envy of the whole class.
verbtransitive
To feel unhappy or longing because someone has something that you would like to have.
Grammar: Takes an object, and may take two: I envy you your freedom.
Patterns
- envy someone
- envy someone something
I envy people who can sleep on planes.
She envied her sister's calm voice.
Nobody envied him the long drive home.
Word forms
| third person singular | envies |
|---|---|
| past tense | envied |
| -ing form | envying |
Common combinations
- green with envy
- She was green with envy when she saw the ring.
- the envy of
- The library is the envy of neighboring schools.
- feel envy
- I felt a flash of envy at her promotion.
- consumed by envy
- He was consumed by envy of his brother.
- envy someone's success
- Many people envy her success.
- I don't envy you
- I don't envy you that long commute.
Synonyms and how they differ
- jealousy
- Jealousy often involves fear of losing something you already have to a rival, while envy is wanting what someone else has.
- covetousness
- Covetousness is a formal, older word for strong greed for another's property.
- resentment
- Resentment stresses anger at unfair treatment, rather than a longing for what someone has.
- begrudge
- Begrudge is a verb meaning to be unwilling to give or to be unhappy that someone has something.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: envy or jealousy?
envy vs jealousy
Many learners use envy and jealousy interchangeably, but jealousy is about protecting what you have from a rival, and envy is about wanting what another has.
Practice
She felt ___ when her friend won the scholarship she had applied for.
Choose one answer.
Envy is the resentful longing for what someone else has, which fits losing out to a friend. Pity, gratitude and generosity express kindness or thanks, and gratitude does not suit the situation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “envy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.