invidious

Definition

Causing ill will, envy, or offense.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin invidiōsus, from invidia (“envy, ill will”), from in- (“upon”) + videō (“I see”); the meaning developed from “look back at” to “look askance at” to “envy.” Doublet of envious, from Old French.

Example Sentences

• "To think highly of ourselves in comparison with others, to assume by our own authority that precedence which none is willing to grant, must be always invidious and offensive; […]"
• "‘I didn’t make use of the word in any invidious sense, ma’am,’ replied Mr. Benjamin Allen, growing somewhat uneasy on his own account."
• "[…] when the interposing barriers of earth and time, and a sense that the events had been somewhat shut into oblivion, would deaden the sting that revelation and invidious remark would have for Bathsheba just now."

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