coveted
Americanadjective
-
wrongfully or inordinately desired.
Pizarro led a party of conquistadores in an attempt to discover El Dorado—the source of the coveted gold of the Incas.
-
highly or eagerly wished for.
The Green Building Council's gold certification is a coveted prize for sustainable building design.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coveted
Explanation
Coveted means "in demand" or "desired." If the most coveted seat on the bus for you is the one right next to the bathroom, then you shouldn’t have any problem getting it because most people don't want it. Coveted comes from the Latin cupiditas, meaning "passionate desire, eagerness, ambition." Cupid isn't always involved, though — coveted is another way of saying "sought after." The poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox said, “If you are seeking health, wealth, usefulness, skill in any direction, there is nothing and no one who can hinder your attainment of the coveted boon, if you are willing to work and wait." So get to work for all that coveted health and wealth!
Vocabulary lists containing coveted
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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The Kite Runner
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This Week in Words: September 29 - October 5, 2018
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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.
Fewer Gen-Z and millennial renters have been able to break into this coveted housing stock, according to an analysis by the city comptroller.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Similarly, in the offseason it was frequently rumored that Manchester City coveted Crystal Palace star midfielder Adam Wharton, whose verve and creativity pops off the screen even to my untrained eyes.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Arsenal also coveted the 17-year-old winger, but City won the battle for a player who joined Leicester aged eight and has already broken records in senior football.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Batiste, 39, will share his trio of new albums four years after he won the coveted prize for album of the year at the 2022 Grammy Awards for his 2021 release “We Are.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Every Sunday after church we would go for a ride in the school neighborhoods I coveted and daydreamed about.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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.
