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
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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:
I never begrudge anyone who is a millionaire or billionaire his money—he or she has developed vital products for the masses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
No one would begrudge Trout for living year-round along the Orange County coast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
No one — not your brother, who relies on you, nor your parents, who are long gone — should or, I hope, would begrudge you the time for your own passions and pursuits.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 10, 2026
The cops last night were like, “We don’t begrudge you for saying ‘manifesto.’
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2025
“If you begrudge Maury your food, why aren’t you man enough to say so to his face. To ridicule him before the children, behind his back.”
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Nobody begrudges Watkins’ success because she still seems so darned untainted by it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
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
No one begrudges the man who walked behind his mother’s coffin a rush of joy at the birth of his first child.
From The Guardian ● May 7, 2019
No one begrudges a colleague trying to get ahead financially.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 17, 2017
Who begrudges a moment for the record of her patriotic services and unremitting toil?
From The Women of the Confederacy by J. L. Underwood
Brey said he never begrudged Ryan passing on his first offer.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2022
Bonds finished his tarnished career with 762, though Aaron never begrudged someone eclipsing his mark.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 22, 2021
I've never begrudged him this, but I was seriously hurt by his not making an effort to ask before committing.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 13, 2020
What I begrudged was the certainty they exuded that they would succeed.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2019
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
But there are also other familiar faces including John C. McGinley as J.D.’s begrudging mentor Dr. Cox and Judy Reyes as nurse Carla, who also happens to be Turk’s wife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Refusing, he drags a begrudging, living, Wolverine into his timeline in a bid to save the day.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024
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.
