Envious
/ˈɛnviːəs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjFeeling or exhibiting envy; jealously desiring the excellence or good fortune of another; maliciously grudging.
adjExcessively careful; cautious.
Sentence Examples
John is envious of your new car.
I was envious of the students who had studied abroad.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The child was ____ of his brother's bigger cake.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It's natural to feel ____ of her success, but we should celebrate her instead.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Fret not thy ſelfe becauſe of euill doers, neither bee thou enuious againſt the workers of iniquitie."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 37:1:
"My soul is envious of mine eye."
— 1827, [John Keble], The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [B]y W. Baxter, for J. Parker; and C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], →OCLC:
"for no man was ever so amorous, as to love a toad; none so envious, as to repine at the condition of the miserable"
— 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:
"Each envious brier his weary legs doth scratch."
— 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC:
"He to him leapt, and that same envious gage / Of victors glory from him snatcht away."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 39:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The child was ____ of his brother's bigger cake.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It's natural to feel ____ of her success, but we should celebrate her instead.