- the feeling of wanting to be in the same situation as somebody else; the feeling of wanting something that somebody else has synonym jealousy (1)
- envy (of somebody) He couldn't conceal his envy of me.
- envy (at/of something) She felt a pang of envy at the thought of his success.
- They looked with envy at her latest purchase.
- Her colleagues were green with envy (= they had very strong feelings of envy).
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc1- His car was an object of envy among his friends.
- Her youth and looks aroused extreme envy in her rivals.
- I detected a tinge of envy in her tone.
- I felt a twinge of envy for the people who lived there.
- I had no envy of his success.
- I look with envy on those lucky people with big families.
- I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.
- the Freudian concept of penis envy
- the envy she felt for her sister
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- extreme
- unconscious
- class
- …
- tinge
- touch
- pang
- …
- be consumed with
- be green with
- feel
- …
- with envy
- envy at
- envy for
- …
- be the envy of somebody/something
- an object of envy
Word OriginMiddle English (also in the sense ‘hostility, enmity’): from Old French envie (noun), envier (verb), from Latin invidia, from invidere ‘regard maliciously, grudge’, from in- ‘into’ + videre ‘to see’.Want to learn more?
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Idioms
See envy in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybe the envy of somebody/something
- to be a person or thing that other people admire and that causes feelings of envy
- British television is the envy of the world.
Check pronunciation:
envy