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“covet”
covet (verb), covets; coveted; coveting
1. To have a strong wish to possess something that belongs to another person or people: The cripple covets the same ability to walk as other people can.
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Shirley has been coveting the same pay as the men receive who are doing the same kind of work as she is.
Jim's religion emphasizes seeking spiritual objectives and it warns people not to covet or to be greedy for material things.
2. Etymology: from Old French coveitier; ultimately from Latin cupiditas, "passionate desire"; from cupidus, "very desirous", from cupere, "to long for, to desire".Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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covet, covert, overt
covet (KUV it) (verb)
To ardently want something that another person has; to long for with envy: When Nadine was young, she used to covet her friend’s pretty clothes.
covert (KOH vurt) (adjective)
Concealed, hidden, disguised, secret, or surreptitious: The head of the company received a covert threat in an unaddressed envelope which was pushed under his office door.
overt (oh VURT, OH vurt") (adjective)
Clearly evident: Virgil had an overt dislike for his new supervisor.
Mona was very overt in her wish to covet her grandmother's necklace; however, after receiving a covert threat from another relative, she changed her mind.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group C; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc.
(page 11)
envy, covet, desire
envy (EN vee) (noun)
Anger or resentful awareness of the advantages enjoyed by another person or people: The envy the older brother felt about the fact that his younger brother was able to go to university often upset him.
covet (KUV it) (verb)
To wish for or to desire something that belongs to another individual: As long as Emily could remember, she was told by her mother not to covet her sister’s bright red hair.
desire (di ZIGHR) (verb)
To hope or to express a wish for something: In Tonia's heart of hearts, she had a desire for a rich and famous boyfriend.
Donovan, be careful what you covet because you might get what you desire and then you could arouse envy among your friends who just might turn out to be your enemies.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group E; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(page 3)
Word Entries at Get Words:
“covet”
To eagerly aspire to achieve an objective or goal in order to obtain an advantage just like another person has. (2)
This entry is located in the following unit:
Word a Day Revisited Index of Cartoons Illustrating the Meanings of Words
(page 26)