enviable

UK/ˈɛn.vi.ə.bl̩/US/ˈɛn.vɪ.ə.b(ə)l/

adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,658 of 15,258neutral

Enviable means good enough that others would like to have it. An enviable position, an enviable record, enviably calm.

It describes the thing rather than the feeling, and it is a compliment that admits a little grudge. An enviable position is a common phrase in reporting, particularly about sport and business.

Definitions of enviable

1adjectiveenviableGood enough that others would like to have it.C1
“She has an enviable job, travelling the world and writing about food.”

enviable is a quality.

Where it comes from

From envy plus -able, from Latin invidia, envy.

Proto-Indo-European
*weyd-
English, today
enviable

From envy + -able.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

enviable in the wild

The National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Red Wing on its 2008 distinctive destinations list because of its "impressive architecture and enviable natural environment".
Red Wing, Minnesota
"It carried him through an enviable run at Departures." In May 2017, Jeffries Blackerby was named editor-in-chief.
Departures (magazine)
Igelhoff was a pianist with an enviable concert technique, which accompanies his light tenor voice (and occasionally his virtuoso whistling) in songs.
Peter Igelhoff
In 1878, The New York Times wrote that Decker Brothers pianos had "a wide spread and enviable reputation for their superior quality".
Decker Brothers
But through his hard-work, he achieved an enviable educational background and at the same time, rose through the ranks of the army, finally becoming the GOC.
V. N. Parameswaran Pillai

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

unenviable

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