adjective
Usage
What does envious mean? Envious means feeling, full of, or expressing envy—a mostly negative feeling of desire for something that someone else has and you do not.Envy is not a good feeling—it can be described as a mix of admiration and discontent. But it’s not necessarily malicious. Envious is very similar in meaning to jealous. However, jealous usually implies a deeper resentment, perhaps because you feel that you deserve the thing more than the other person, or that it is unfair that they have it.Envious is often followed by the word of and the person or thing that’s the object of envy, as in I must admit that I’m envious of her talent. Example: Other people’s perfectly curated social media feeds often cause us to feel envious, but we need to keep in mind that they don’t show the whole story of what someone’s life is like—only the highlights.
Other Word Forms
- enviously adverb
- enviousness noun
- nonenvious adjective
- nonenviously adverb
- nonenviousness noun
- overenvious adjective
- overenviously adverb
- overenviousness noun
- quasi-envious adjective
- quasi-enviously adverb
- unenvious adjective
- unenviously adverb
Etymology
Origin of envious
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French envieus < Latin invidiōsus invidious
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.
Two months and some cursory learning later, I found myself visiting him in Montréal, deeply envious of all of the bilingual and French-proficient Canadians and American expats he introduced me to.
From Salon
When I see my girlfriend devour books faster than the popcorn she keeps within arm’s reach, I feel guilty — and envious.
From Los Angeles Times
If you’ve seen the movie, you know precisely what this refers to; if you haven’t, I’m envious that you get to experience the scene in question for the first time.
From Salon
Oddly, as Mike Burry’s investors grew restive, his Wall Street counterparties took a new and envious interest in what he was up to.
From Literature
Today he has a Rolodex of A-list directors that would make many talent agents envious.
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.
