envy
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is have by another.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehnveeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛnvi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another
Resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions).
An object of envious notice or feeling.
A red-skinned variety of eating apple.
verb
transitive
To resentfully or discontentedly desire (something someone else has that one lacks).
Feel envious towards; admire enviously
transitive
To feel displeasure or hatred towards (someone) for their good fortune or possessions.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another
Used this way, envy is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use envy
- “I try not to envy what other people have.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.