3 syllables: en, vi, ous. Stress on en.
EN-vee-uhs
/ˈɛnviəs/
envious is pronounced EN-vee-uhs (/ˈɛnviəs/). It has three syllables (en-vi-ous), with the stress on "en". Envious describes a feeling of discontent or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck. It conveys a sense of covetous desire and social comparison, often accompanied by mild negativity rather than overt anger. The term typically appears in formal to neutral registers and can function as an adjective or participial modifier in sentences like “an envious glance.”.
Envious describes a feeling of discontent or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck. It conveys a sense of covetous desire and social comparison, often accompanied by mild negativity rather than overt anger. The term typically appears in formal to neutral registers and can function as an adjective or participial modifier in sentences like “an envious glance.”
- You might misplace stress or compress EN- into a single syllable; practice three syllables EN-vi-ous with clear, distinct vowels. - Avoid turning the /v/ into /f/ or /b/; keep the labiodental contact. - Don’t let the final /əs/ become a full /z/ or a heavy syllable; keep it light and quick. - Ensure you don’t vocalize the /ɪ/ too long; keep it mid-short so the final /əs/ remains unstressed and quick.
"She gave him an envious look as he opened the gift."
"Many people feel envious of their neighbor’s recent promotion."
"His envious comments hinted at insecurity rather than genuine criticism."
Pronounce as /ˈɛn.vi.əs/. First syllable stressed: EN-. Follow with a clear /v/ in the middle and a light, unstressed final /əs/. Mouth positions: start with the jaw gently dropped for /ɛ/, bring the upper teeth to the bottom lip for /v/, then relax into a light /i/ before the final schwa /ə/ and /s/. For style, keep the /v/ voiced and avoid a hissy final. IPA reference: US /ˈɛn.vi.əs/, UK /ˈɛn.vɪ.əs/.
Two frequent errors: (1) Treating it like ‘envy-us’ with a syllable boundary after the N; say EN-vi-ous with three clear syllables. (2) Dropping the /v/ or turning it into a /w/ or /f/ sound; ensure the lips touch for /v/ and the voice is present. Correction tips: practice EN- via a flutter-free /ɛn/ followed by a strong /v/ with the lower lip contacting the upper teeth; end with /i.əs/ or /ɪ.əs/ depending on accent, keeping the second vowel short and unstressed.
US: /ˈɛn.vi.əs/ with a clear /ɪ/ in the second syllable and a rhotic-free final cluster; UK: /ˈɛn.vɪ.əs/ with a slightly shorter /ɪ/ and more clipped final /əs/; AU: similar to US but with a more centralized vowel quality in /ɪ/ and sometimes a softer /ə/ in the final syllable. Across all, the main variation is the quality of the middle vowel and rhoticity in connected speech, though envious is typically non-rhotic in British varieties.
The challenge lies in the middle /v/ surrounded by a voiced sonorant /n/ and the following light /i/ before a final unstressed schwa and /s/. Coarticulation makes the /n/ influence the following /v/, and the final /əs/ can reduce to a quick schwa-s or /əs/. Achieve clarity by separating EN-, then producing a firm /v/, and finally a relaxed /əs/ with a light touch.
Is the vowel in the second syllable more like /ɪ/ or /iː/? In careful speech, most speakers use /ɪ/ as in 'victory' or 'is' for the second syllable, yielding /ˈɛn.vɪ.əs/. Some dialects in casual speech blend closer to /ˈɛnviəs/ with a reduced second vowel; however, the standard, widely accepted form remains /ˈɛn.vi.əs/ with a short /ɪ/.
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Envious comes from the Old French enveuous, from en- (a variant of in-, in the sense of make into) +veu (from Latin videre ‘to see’ in the sense of looking with desire or coveting). The English form emerged in Middle English as envious, influenced by the noun envy, which traces to Latin invidia, via Old French enuie. The root idea centers on longing or covetousness provoked by watching others’ possessions or success; the sense broadened from spiritual or moral disapproval to a more secular, everyday emotional state. By the 14th century, envious signified malicious or dangerous envy, but by later centuries it softened in many contexts to merely “jealous or covetous.” In modern usage, envious frequently coexists with neutral or critical tones, allowing it to describe both mild, social comparison and stronger resentful desire. The word’s prefix en- reinforces the sense of causing or showing a particular state (to become envious).
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Words that rhyme with "envious"
-ous sounds
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