adjective
Related Words
See avaricious.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of covetous
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English coveitous, from Anglo-French, Old French; see covet, -ous
Explanation
To be covetous of something is to want it and to be a little jealous of anyone who has it. The advertising industry’s goal is to make you covetous of the things that other people have — that way, you'll buy them. If you feel the desire to own an object, specifically something that your friend owns, you are covetous of it. You might be covetous of her new high-speed digital camera. There is a commandment in Christianity about not feeling covetous toward your neighbor’s spouse: this could apply to a situation when you might find yourself attracted to your friend’s girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, or wife. Best to smother those feelings, if you want to keep that friendship.
Vocabulary lists containing covetous
A Christmas Carol
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Julius Caesar
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Never Enough: Synonyms for "Greedy"
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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.
And audiences responded with delight to young St. Petersburg conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov and a cast of mainly Russian soloists, including veteran baritone Sergei Leiferkus as the "Skupoi Rytsar", the Covetous Knight, in the pivotal piece.
From Reuters • Jul. 10, 2015
Covetous men subdued it with the steel plow.
From Time Magazine Archive
Covetous rewards doth so their conscience drown, That the fatherless they will not help to right, The poor widow's cause come not afore their sight.
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 by Hazlitt, William Carew
Covetous death bereaved us all, To aggrandize one funeral.
From Poems Household Edition by Emerson, Ralph Waldo
Covetous desire is the greatest source of sorrow, appearing as a friend in secret 'tis our enemy.
From Sacred Books of the East by Various
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.
