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
Explanation
Things that are enviable are so good that other people want them. People desire enviable things. Enviable things are so desirable that everybody wants them. A high-paying job is enviable. A vacation in the Caribbean is enviable. Winning the lottery is very enviable. Anytime someone does something impressive or buys something cool, it's likely to be described with the word enviable. Also, a sports team with a big lead could be described as being in an enviable position: other teams would like to be in their position.
Vocabulary lists containing enviable
Vocabulary from "John L. O'Sullivan on 'Manifest Destiny' " from 1839
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Vocabulary from Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" (1918)
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6.1: Origins and Outcomes of World War I in Global Context (Sources 1–8)
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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.
Viking shares have been on a similarly enviable journey.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
It is an enviable demographic bulge, the kind that powered East Asia's economic miracles.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
The seven-part limited series, which aired its second episode Sunday, subverts expectations at every turn, from its peculiar characters to the layered storytelling of writer-showrunner-director Steven Conrad to the nuanced performances of an enviable cast.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
America’s enviable salaries and stock gains powered by the U.S. economy allow a new class of students, remote workers and retirees to finance a second chapter abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026
This wedding offered a special attraction, for the bridegroom was a handsome, well-liked man—the tenor of Mount Zion’s Men’s Quartet, who had an enviable reputation among the girls and a comfortable one among men.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
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.
