Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
  • noun The object of such feeling.
  • noun Obsolete Malevolence.
  • transitive verb To feel envy toward (another person).
  • transitive verb To regard (something) with envy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To challenge (in a game).
  • To vie with; emulate.
  • To strive; contend; vie.
  • noun A feeling of uneasiness, mortification, or discontent excited by the contemplation of another's superiority, prosperity, or success, accompanied with some degree of enmity or malignity, and often or usually with a desire or an effort to discomfit or mortify the person envied: usually followed by of.
  • noun Hatred; ill will; malice.
  • noun Public odium; ill repute.
  • noun An object of envy.
  • noun Synonyms Jealousy, Envy. Jealousy is the malign feeling which is often had toward a rival, or possible rival, for the possession of that which we greatly desire, as in love or ambition. Envy is a similar feeling toward one, whether rival or not, who already possesses that which we greatly desire. Jealousy is enmity prompted by fear; envy is enmity prompted by covetousness.
  • To regard with envy; look upon as the possessor of what is wanting in or to one's self, with a longing for it, and either with or without, a desire for the deprivation or discomfiture of him who has it: often with both the possessor and the thing possessed as objects.
  • To feel envy on account of; regard grudgingly or wistfully another's possession or experience of, either with or without malevolent feeling.
  • To regard unfavorably; revolt against; oppose.
  • To do harm to; injure.
  • To be affected with envy; have envious feelings; regard something pertaining to another with grudge or longing: formerly often followed by at.
  • noun A challenge (in a game); a vying; a vie.
  • noun A contention; an attempt; an attack.
  • noun Emulation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete Malice; ill will; spite.
  • noun Chagrin, mortification, discontent, or uneasiness at the sight of another's excellence or good fortune, accompanied with some degree of hatred and a desire to possess equal advantages; malicious grudging; -- usually followed by of.
  • noun obsolete Emulation; rivalry.
  • noun obsolete Public odium; ill repute.
  • noun An object of envious notice or feeling.
  • intransitive verb To be filled with envious feelings; to regard anything with grudging and longing eyes; -- used especially with at.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To show malice or ill will; to rail.
  • transitive verb To feel envy at or towards; to be envious of; to have a feeling of uneasiness or mortification in regard to (any one), arising from the sight of another's excellence or good fortune and a longing to possess it.
  • transitive verb To feel envy on account of; to have a feeling of grief or repining, with a longing to possess (some excellence or good fortune of another, or an equal good fortune, etc.); to look with grudging upon; to begrudge.
  • transitive verb To long after; to desire strongly; to covet.
  • transitive verb obsolete To do harm to; to injure; to disparage.
  • transitive verb obsolete To hate.
  • transitive verb obsolete To emulate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb obsolete To show malice or ill will; to rail.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb be envious of; set one's heart on
  • verb feel envious towards; admire enviously
  • noun spite and resentment at seeing the success of another (personified as one of the deadly sins)
  • noun a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English envie, from Old French, from Latin invidia, from invidus, envious, from invidēre, to look at with envy : in-, in, on; see en– + vidēre, to see; see weid- in Indo-European roots. V., from Middle English envien, from Old French envier, from Latin invidēre.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English envie, from Old French envie, from Latin invidia ("envy"), from invidere ("to look at with malice") from in + videre ("on, upon" + "to look, see"). Displaced native Middle English ande, onde ("envy") (from Old English anda, onda ("breath, emotion, envy, hatred, grudge, dislike")), Middle English nithe, nith ("envy, malice") (from Old English nīþ ("envy, hatred, malice, spite, jealousy")).

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