How to Use envy in a Sentence

envy

1 of 2 noun
  • We watched with envy as the yacht slid past us.
  • Their exotic vacations inspired envy in their friends.
  • The cure for envy is to try to see what’s in front of us.
    Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Al Capone’s ghost must be green with envy.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 May 2026
  • The jeopardy in the league should be the envy of its peers.
    James Horncastle, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
  • This looks like a case of parade envy.
    Chris Brennan, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Any kid with this scooter will be the envy of the first grade!
    Maya McDowell, House Beautiful, 25 Jan. 2019
  • So these are the embers of envy.
    CBS News, 10 May 2026
  • Her look and her lyrics inspired envy.
    Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 10 Dec. 2025
  • Most of all, though, the cure for envy is to try to see what’s in front of us.
    Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
  • What stands out most his client list, the envy of many other agents.
    Ronald Blum, The Denver Post, 18 Dec. 2019
  • He’s long been perched at the top of the food chain, beloved by fans and the envy of his peers.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025
  • In a place where there’s no pain, no demons, no jealousy, no envy, no greed.
    Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 12 Nov. 2022
  • James Sweeney has a case of grocery envy.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Boston has been the object of league-wide envy for years now.
    Andrew Sharp, SI.com, 20 Apr. 2018
  • Her siblings swelled with pride, and perhaps a dash of envy.
    Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
  • Smart projects like this make the brand the envy of the rest of the industry.
    Cam Wolf, GQ, 27 Sep. 2017
  • And throughout the years, along with such prestige has come envy.
    Jim Derry, NOLA.com, 24 Aug. 2017
  • Your breakfast will be the envy of the carpool.
    Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2026
  • But even the dishes served in coach would make today's fliers green with envy.
    Chris Dwyer, CNN, 11 Aug. 2021
  • With the jewel-like facets, these gold-bar nails could inspire lots of envy!
    Lori Keong, Marie Claire, 9 June 2017
  • Below, 13 home items that'll make the next guest in your home green with envy.
    Elise Taylor, Vogue, 13 Mar. 2018
  • Smith sees the sophomore’s quick get-off and strength and quickness and feels a touch of envy.
    Nathan Baird, cleveland, 21 Oct. 2020
  • Your riding in style and will be the envy of commoners who took a cab.
    John Tuohy, Indianapolis Star, 15 Mar. 2018
  • And so the other answer to envy is not to fight it, but to follow it.
    Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
  • That type of envy and jealousy is a real mark of success.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Australia has been the envy of the world for much of the pandemic.
    Washington Post, 15 July 2021
  • Then as now, the goal was to inspire as much envy as possible.
    Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, The Atlantic, 25 May 2017
  • Growing your sports empire in a way that should be the envy of your rivals.
    Greg Cote may 7, Miami Herald, 7 May 2026
  • Such is the lenient envy with which age regards the idleness of youth.
    Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2021

envy

2 of 2 verb
  • I envy the way you've made so many friends.
  • I envy you for your large group of friends.
  • Tom Coyne has one of those jobs most would envy.
    Lee Cowan, CBS News, 3 May 2026
  • Gotta give the kids something to envy.
    Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 1 June 2026
  • Charlotte Banks lives in a house that just about anyone would envy.
    Stanley Reed, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2023
  • For a long, slow moment in his short life, he is envied and feared and powerful.
    Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 23 Jan. 2018
  • Part of me misses these late nights—and envies those who still take advantage of them.
    Lindsey Lanquist, SELF, 14 June 2018
  • Pierson walks me through the kind of workplace you’re supposed to envy.
    Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Apart from dinner, the noodles pack well for lunch, too — my kids’ friends always envy it!
    Amisha Gurbani, San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2023
  • In a year of panic, envy any creature who estivates in the heat.
    Christina Olson, Scientific American, 16 June 2021
  • The result of the family's hard work is a kitchen that anyone would envy.
    Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Feb. 2026
  • All this won the director the type of appeal any politician would envy.
    Michael Kazin, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2022
  • The Roma means to knit envy out of something more durable than bench racing.
    Dan Neil, WSJ, 30 Apr. 2021
  • Anyone who did something like this was a person Leila envied and loathed.
    Susan Choi, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
  • His fitness level is envied among his teammates.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 Nov. 2025
  • America is envied for having two, friendly ones, and vast oceans to each side.
    The Economist, 4 July 2019
  • Of course, Facebook has margins that many of its big-tech peers can only envy.
    Dan Gallagher, WSJ, 29 Jan. 2020
  • At the same time, stay-at-home moms are envied at least as often as they are condescended to.
    Lyman Stone, Vox, 11 May 2018
  • She’s built a brand, a platform, and a network that most firms multiples her size would envy.
    Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 14 Nov. 2025
  • The humans envy, worship, and adore us, live through fantasies of being us.
    Christian Holub, EW.com, 24 Sep. 2021
  • The American rail system was once envied around the world.
    Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
  • DiCaprio, now 51, has built a career many of his peers would envy.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Busch could ride off into the sunset today and have a career most drivers would envy.
    Mike Hembree, USA TODAY, 1 June 2018
  • The instinct to envy the unicorn’s conditions is a trap.
    Sylvana Quader Sinha, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
  • Research shows that people tend to envy successful takers and look for ways to knock them down a notch.
    Jeff Rose, Forbes, 15 Nov. 2021
  • Then there’s the fact that true greatness is so often hated and feared and envied in our society now.
    Colin Fleming, SI.com, 3 June 2017
  • Why is all so downbeat, when Illinois has strengths and assets that other states envy?
    Jim Nowlan, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Putting his team in a position that the Sox and 27 other teams are left to envy.
    Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Oct. 2022
  • Sharp, sleek, shoulder-grazing-length—what's not to envy about this edgy cut by stylist Chris Jones?
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 10 June 2026
  • Roy, who has coached every track and field event at one time or another, will also hand off a legacy any coach would envy.
    Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 4 May 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'envy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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