invidious

[ in-vid-ee-uhs ]
See synonyms for: invidiousinvidiousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. calculated to create ill will or resentment or give offense; hateful: invidious remarks.

  2. offensively or unfairly discriminating; injurious: invidious comparisons.

  1. causing or tending to cause animosity, resentment, or envy: an invidious honor.

  2. Obsolete. envious.

Origin of invidious

1
1600–10; <Latin invidiōsus envious, envied, hateful, equivalent to invidi(a) envy + -ōsus-ous

Other words from invidious

  • in·vid·i·ous·ly, adverb
  • in·vid·i·ous·ness, noun
  • non·in·vid·i·ous, adjective
  • non·in·vid·i·ous·ly, adverb
  • non·in·vid·i·ous·ness, noun
  • un·in·vid·i·ous, adjective
  • un·in·vid·i·ous·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with invidious

Words Nearby invidious

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use invidious in a sentence

  • It is, therefore, (p. 224) a matter of individual taste, and further comparisons would be invidious and perhaps unjust.

    Yachting Vol. 2 | Various.
  • There was little indeed to be amused at here except his choice of the particular invidious name.

    The Awkward Age | Henry James
  • Several exceptions must be understood; but to select them would be invidious.

  • That invidious task they leave to the unsuccessful novelists.

British Dictionary definitions for invidious

invidious

/ (ɪnˈvɪdɪəs) /


adjective
  1. incurring or tending to arouse resentment, unpopularity, etc: an invidious task

  2. (of comparisons or distinctions) unfairly or offensively discriminating

  1. obsolete grudging; envious

Origin of invidious

1
C17: from Latin invidiōsus full of envy, from invidia envy

Derived forms of invidious

  • invidiously, adverb
  • invidiousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012