begrudge
Americanverb (used with object)
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begrudges,
present (3rd person singular)
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begrudged,
past participle, past
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begrudging
present participle
-
to envy or resent the pleasure or good fortune of (someone).
She begrudged her friend the award.
-
to be reluctant to give, grant, or allow.
She did not begrudge the money spent on her children's education.
verb
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to give, admit, or allow unwillingly or with a bad grace
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to envy (someone) the possession of (something)
Synonym Usage
See envy.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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begrudgesimple
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begrudgessimple
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have begrudgedperfect
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has begrudgedperfect
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am begrudgingprogressive
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are begrudgingprogressive
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is begrudgingprogressive
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have been begrudgingperfect progressive
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has been begrudgingperfect progressive
Past
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begrudgedsimple
-
had begrudgedperfect
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was begrudgingprogressive
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were begrudgingprogressive
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had been begrudgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of begrudge
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bigrucchen; see be-, grudge
Explanation
To begrudge someone for something is to wish them ill for it or to envy them. Try not to begrudge his getting the promotion over you — he's been at the company longer. An understudy might begrudge the lead her role and even go so far as to put glass in her shoes so she can't perform. An easy way to remember the meaning of this verb is to note the noun grudge lurking inside it. A grudge is ill will that you hold toward someone: to begrudge is to hold that grudge. If you begrudge your friend his happiness because he got the nicer car, your friendship will suffer.
Vocabulary lists containing begrudge
Grade 9, List 6
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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This Week in Words : January 19 - 25, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But you didn’t work all these years not to enjoy life, so I’m not going to begrudge you your well-deserved vacations.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 20, 2026
And who could begrudge the two sisters their happily-ever-after?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
I begrudge no one the desire to reboot a groundbreaking series, and two years ago, the prospect of seeing these iconic 30-somethings as mid-to-late 50-somethings was certainly appealing to one who shares their mature demographic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025
The cops last night were like, “We don’t begrudge you for saying ‘manifesto.’
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2025
She could not begrudge him his industrious amazement.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
“I don’t think there is anybody at Chuck E. Cheese who begrudges doing this,” he added.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2024
Yet Valentina is quick to say that she hardly begrudges her parents, whom she describes as both hard-working and deeply loving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who begrudges her absence from the celebrations; in more than seven decades of service, she has given so much.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2022
Of course, no one begrudges Ohio State employees a raise if their employer is so painlessly able to afford it.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 3, 2019
Yes, the birds earn their way, there is no denying it, and he is a very stupid farmer who begrudges them the little corn and wheat they take from the fields.
From Dickey Downy The Autobiography of a Bird by Virginia Sharpe Patterson
All of this makes it strange to contemplate Pratt as a case of a man begrudged yet still watched for the same reason: his averageness.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2022
Brey said he never begrudged Ryan passing on his first offer.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2022
Over the years, I never cared for them, though I certainly never begrudged anyone who loved them.
From New York Times ● Jan. 2, 2022
Bonds finished his tarnished career with 762, though Aaron never begrudged someone eclipsing his mark.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 22, 2021
In her part of the letter, Grandmother had grumbled a bit about the expense—not that she begrudged us the extra letters, but their budget was a bit tight.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
Canada’s history is a pendulum of violent rejection, reluctant acceptance, begrudging condescension and resigned cohabitation with America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The crowd, which greeted Paul with boos before settling into sullen, begrudging applause when prodded, is fully prepared for a distraction.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Experts say this genre, dubbed "AI slop" by some critics and begrudging viewers, is taking over social media feeds.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
In the hands of Gilroy and Luna, “Andor” billed itself over two seasons as the begrudging rise of a revolutionary.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2025
Undoubtedly, Harry thought, watching him over the top of his own book, Malfoy was begrudging the time he could otherwise be spending in the Room of Requirement.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
