Begrudge

verb

verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To grudge about or over; be envious or covetous.
  2. 2
    wish ill or allow unwillingly wordnet
  3. 3
    To be reluctant.
  4. 4
    be envious of; set one's heart on wordnet
  5. 5
    To give reluctantly.

    "Okay, then, next time you go and leave me stay here. See if I begrudge you a little fun."

Antonyms

All antonyms

Example

More examples

"My mother and father are the only people on the whole planet whom I will never begrudge a thing. Should I achieve great things, it is the work of their hands; they are splendid people and their absolute love of their children places them above the highest praise. It cloaks all of their shortcomings, shortcomings that may have resulted from a difficult life."

Etymology

From Middle English bigrucchen (“to grumble at”), equivalent to be- (“at, about, over”) + grudge. Compare also English begrouch.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.