envy

To be very jealous of another person. My daughter loves being on stage, so she is just green with envy that Alice got the lead in the school play. When I was a kid, I threw my brother's birthday cake on the floor because I was green with envy that it wasn't my birthday.

To be that which is most admired or envied by someone or something. You guys will be the envy of the neighborhood once your new pool is finished. As the only one with a window, Beth's corner office is the envy of the department.

To feel jealousy toward someone for some reason. I envy my sister for her unflappable nature—criticism or judgment just does not bother her at all. Boy, do I envy you for your gorgeous red hair!

proverb Expressions of envy are complimentary, as they signal that someone yearns for something that you exude or possess. A: "Laura drives me nuts. I'm so jealous of her having a boyfriend, I could scream." B: "I hate to tell you this, but envy is the sincerest form of flattery."

Very jealous of another person. My daughter loves being on stage, so she is just green with envy that Alice got the lead in the school play. When I was a kid, I threw my brother's birthday cake on the floor because I was green with envy that it wasn't my birthday.

to regard one with jealousy or resentment because of someone or something one has. I envy you for your lovely car. We all envy you for your beautiful children.

Fig. appearing jealous; appearing envious. (*Typically: be ~ become ∼.) My new car made my neighbor green with envy. Bill was green with envy that I won first place.

Full of desire for someone's possessions or advantages; extremely covetous. For example, Her fur coat makes me green with envy. Shakespeare described envy as the green sickness ( Anthony and Cleopatra, 3:2), but the current phrase, dating from the mid-1800s, is the one most often heard. Also see green-eyed monster.

If you are green with envy, you very much want to do something that another person is doing or have what they have. She told us she was going to live in Paris and we were all green with envy. This is the most exciting discovery I have made in 20 years of digging. Archaeologists everywhere will be green with envy. Note: This expression is usually used light-heartedly rather than disapprovingly. Note: A greenish-coloured skin on the face was traditionally believed to show jealousy.

Jealousy. The green-eyed monster comes straight from Shakespeare’s Othello (3.3), where the villain Iago tells Othello, “O! beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” The poet’s allusion is to the green-eyed cat family who tease their prey, seeming to love and hate them at the same time. However, a greenish complexion also was associated with jealousy, and elsewhere Shakespeare wrote “Troubled with the green sickness” (Antony and Cleopatra, 3.2). Jealousy and envy are not precisely synonyms; the first is a feeling of resentment against someone who enjoys success or an advantage, or who is a rival; the second is more a feeling of covetousness with regard to someone’s possessions or advantages. Nevertheless the color green came to symbolize envy as well, although somewhat later.