enviable
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does enviable mean? Enviable means very desirable. It’s especially used to describe things that a person has and that other people want—or a person that other people want to be like.In other words, enviable means worthy of or likely to cause envy—a feeling of desire for something that someone else has and you do not. Envy is also a verb meaning to have feelings of envy toward someone, and enviable is formed from this verb.Envy is not a good feeling—it can be described as a mix of admiration and discontent. Enviable is often used to describe things that are so good that other people will naturally want them (and might even get a little envious or jealous).The opposite of enviable is unenviable, which is typically used to describe tasks or positions that no one wants, as in He was given the unenviable task of making sure everyone paid on time. Example: It’s an enviable position, with a lot of perks, so naturally we have many applicants.
Other Word Forms
- enviableness noun
- enviably adverb
- nonenviable adjective
- nonenviableness noun
- nonenviably adverb
- unenviable adjective
- unenviably adverb
Etymology
Origin of enviable
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.
In other words, the NFL sees itself in a pretty enviable position.
It also means that Stan, or “Druck”—he is known by both on the Street—would be in the enviable position of having a direct connection to the heads of both the Fed and Treasury.
From Barron's
If the Fed’s enviable track record of price stability had continued through this decade, central bankers may have been granted wider berth.
But avoiding a default in the third round, followed by a walkover and then a retirement, is an enviable pattern.
From BBC
In a long passionate speech, the good and single doctor explains to her boss why she’s quitting her enviable, high-powered job at his Seattle hospital and relocating to Malibu.
From Salon
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.
