Dictionary entry

Invidious

Webster's Dictionary 1913

In‐vid″i‐ous (?), a. [L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Envious.]

1. Envious; malignant. Evelyn.

2. Worthy of envy; desirable; enviable.

Such a person appeareth in a far more honorable and invidious state than any prosperous man. Barrow.

3. Likely to incur or produce ill will, or to provoke envy; hateful; as, invidious distinctions.

Agamemnon found it an invidious affair to give the preference to any one of the Grecian heroes. Broome.

— In‐vid″i‐ous‐ly, adv. — In‐vid″i‐ous‐ness, n.