Envious
//ˈɛnviːəs// adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Feeling or exhibiting envy; jealously desiring the excellence or good fortune of another; maliciously grudging.
"an envious man, disposition, or attack; envious tongues"
- 2 Excessively careful; cautious.
"for no man was ever so amorous, as to love a toad; none so envious, as to repine at the condition of the miserable"
- 3 Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. obsolete
"Each envious brier his weary legs doth scratch."
- 4 Inspiring envy. obsolete, poetic
"He to him leapt, and that same envious gage / Of victors glory from him snatcht away."
Adjective
- 1 showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages wordnet
Example
More examples"John is envious of your new car."
Etymology
From Middle English envious, from Anglo-Norman envious, from Old French envieus, envious (modern French envieux), from Latin invidiōsus; more at envy. Doublet of invidious, borrowed directly from Latin. Displaced native Old English æfestiġ.
More for "envious"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.