Definitions

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

  • adjective Feeling, expressing, or characterized by envy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Feeling or disposed to feel envy.
  • Tinctured with envy; manifesting or expressing envy: as, an envious disposition; an envious attack; an envious tongue.
  • Calculated to inspire envy; enviable.
  • Jealous; watchful; exceedingly careful.
  • Synonyms See invidious.

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

  • adjective obsolete Malignant; mischievous; spiteful.
  • adjective Feeling or exhibiting envy; actuated or directed by, or proceeding from, envy; -- said of a person, disposition, feeling, act, etc.; jealously pained by the excellence or good fortune of another; maliciously grudging; -- followed by of, at, and against
  • adjective Obs. or Poetic Inspiring envy.
  • adjective obsolete Excessively careful; cautious.

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

  • adjective Feeling or exhibiting envy; jealously desiring the excellence or good fortune of another; maliciously grudging
  • adjective Excessively careful; cautious.
  • adjective obsolete Malignant; mischievous; spiteful.
  • adjective obsolete, poetic Inspiring envy.

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

  • adjective showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old French envieus; more at envy.

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Examples

  • None the less, he did all he could, and his preachings are full of accusations and invective against the wise of the world, for he thus called the envious and those who opposed his doctrines.

    Discourses 2003

  • Whilst they were represented by their votaries as excelling in beauty and activity, strength and intelligence, they were at the same time described as envious and gluttonous, base, lustful, and revengeful.

    The Ancient Church Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution 1854

  • In Dante’s Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low.

    2009 March « I’m Not Broken 2009

  • And that orcs, as you view them, are envious is not a justification but another flaw. (

    superversive: Website update superversive 2010

  • In Dante’s Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low.

    Dealing with jealousy « I’m Not Broken 2009

  • William Dembski calls envious attention to the funding (reportedly $25M) by NSF of the BEACON (Bio/computational Evolution in Action CONsortium ) project, a multi-institutional consortium that is intended

    The Panda's Thumb: May 2010 Archives 2010

  • William Dembski calls envious attention to the funding (reportedly $25M) by NSF of the BEACON (Bio/computational Evolution in Action CONsortium ) project, a multi-institutional consortium that is intended

    NSF Center for the Study of Evolution in Action Funded - The Panda's Thumb 2010

  • William Dembski calls envious attention to the funding (reportedly $25M) by NSF of the BEACON (Bio/computational Evolution in Action CONsortium ) project, a multi-institutional consortium that is intended

    The Panda's Thumb: Improving science education Archives 2010

  • William Dembski calls envious attention to the funding (reportedly $25M) by NSF of the BEACON (Bio/computational Evolution in Action CONsortium ) project, a multi-institutional consortium that is intended

    The Panda's Thumb: Resources for Biologists Archives 2010

  • The dissonance of it is mellifluous; I'm envious, which is a sign I'm not as humble as he.

    The Dissonance of Humility Mike L 2006

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  • A grammagram: NVS

    October 30, 2015