envy
/ˈɛnvi/noun, verb
envy is spelled E-N-V-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, envy means “Resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of envy is envies.
How many letters and syllables are in envy?
| Letters | 4: E-N-V-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.9 times per million words; the 9,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is envy?
Envy appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce envy?
- /ˈɛnvi/
Envy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-envy.ogg, En-us-envy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with envy?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as envy.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: veny.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of envy
- envies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- envying participle, present
- envied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does envy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Resentful desire of something possessed by another or others (but not limited to material possessions).
- 2
An object of envious notice or feeling.
- 3
obsoleteHatred, enmity, ill-feeling.
- 4
obsoleteEmulation; rivalry.
- 5
obsoletePublic odium; ill repute.
- 6
A red-skinned variety of eating apple.
verb
- 1
To feel displeasure or hatred towards (someone) for their good fortune or possessions.
- 2
To resentfully or discontentedly desire (something someone else has that one lacks).
- 3
obsoleteTo have envious feelings (at).
- 4
obsoleteTo give (something) to (someone) grudgingly or reluctantly; to begrudge.
- 5
obsoleteTo show malice or ill will; to rail.
- 6
obsoleteTo do harm to; to injure; to disparage.
- 7
obsoleteTo hate.
- 8
obsoleteTo emulate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Envy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | envie, jalousie, convoitise , envier |
| German | Neid, Abgunst , beneiden |
| Portuguese | inveja, ciúmes , invejar |
| Spanish | envidia, pelusa, dentera , envidiar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does envy come from?
From Middle English envie, from Old French envie, from Latin invidia (“envy”), from invidere (“to look at with malice”), from in- (“on, upon”) + videre (“to look, see”). Doublet of envie. Cognate to Proto-Slavic *zavistь (“envy”). Displaced native Old English æfest and Old English nīþ.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).