envious
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
feeling unhappy because you want something that someone else has.
feeling or showing a resentful desire for the advantages, possessions, or luck enjoyed by others.
Simple“She felt envious of her brother when he won a free trip to Hawaii.”
In context“The younger executives were openly envious of his rapid promotion, though they respected the immense effort he had put into the project.”
UsageUsually followed by the preposition 'of' before a noun or pronoun.
Teacher's tipWhile 'jealous' and 'envious' are often used as synonyms, 'envious' specifically refers to wanting what you don't have, whereas 'jealous' can also mean fearing you will lose what you already have.
PitfallHe was envious for my new car. He was envious of my new car.The adjective envious is almost always followed by the preposition 'of', not 'for' or 'about'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
describing something so good that other people want it for themselves.
arousing or likely to arouse envy in others due to high quality or desirability.
Simple“The company is in the envious position of having no major competitors.”
In context“By the end of the decade, the firm had secured an envious reputation for innovation and employee retention.”
UsageIn modern English, 'enviable' is much more common for this meaning; using 'envious' here is a literary choice.
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.