Logo - Feel The Words

Envied Quotes

The quiet ache of wanting someone else's life.

These envied quotes come from people admitting, often reluctantly, that they wished they had someone else's talent, freedom, or choices. One writer envies a fellow playwright's craft, another envies classmates who went to college. It's a more honest emotion than most people let on, much like the confessions found in Alone quotes.

I was interested by the idea that artists working in a totalitarian dictatorship or tsarist autocracy are secretly and slightly shamefully envied by artists who work in freedom. They have the gratification of intense interest: the authorities want to put...

Quotes by Tom Stoppard

No, I never went to college. Always regretted it, always envied people who did.

Quotes by Sydney Pollack

When I was in my teens and twenties, I could see friends expressing how radical they were, and I envied them, the way they lived, the way they dressed. Maybe there is a part of me that is reserved, even...

Quotes by Susan Minot

I always envied them, the owners of the cars with the white plates who can be seen around Jerusalem. I always wanted to be one of them. We call them U.N., even though U.N. are generally foreign correspondents with leased...

Quotes by Sayed Kashua

Alone Quotes

I've never envied the person who had to put my books together in one script.

Quotes by Sarah Dessen

Men like Sunil Dutt should not be mourned, only envied for their greatness.

Quotes by Mahesh Bhatt

It was Noel Coward whose technique I envied and tried to emulate. I collected all his records and writing.

Quotes by Kenneth Williams

How much better a thing it is to be envied than to be pitied.

Quotes by Herodotus

I've always envied people who compose music or paint, because they don't have to be bothered with the sort of crude mess that language normally is, in everyday life and in the way we use it.

Quotes by Franz Wright

Always Quotes

I was both very successful and very left; the living demonstration of how you could be on the left and still be in the gossip columns and be envied for the money you made.

Quotes by Elia Kazan

I envied kids who played soccer and football, but that was not my gig.

Quotes by Colson Whitehead

I noticed the drama majors on campus when I was at Notre Dame. They just seemed to be freer spirits than the rest of us. There was joy in their work; they were the only ones studying something whose work...

Quotes by Catherine Hicks

I enjoy the collaboration. I always envied people in bands who got to have that interaction. I've done so many albums where I've been in the studio for 14 hours a day for six months just trying to come up...

Quotes by Beck

The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause.

Quotes by Baltasar Gracian

Applause Quotes

Nothing is so envied as genius, nothing so hopeless of attainment by labor alone. Though labor always accompanies the greatest genius, without the intellectual gift labor alone will do little.

Quotes by B. R. Hayden

You're isolated as a writer, so I always envied people who could get up early and drive to work and fit into society.

Quotes by Aram Saroyan

Turkey is widely envied while there are very serious troubles in the world economy.

Quotes by Ali Babacan

Frequently Asked Questions

What do these envied quotes actually talk about?
They cover people admitting they wished they had someone else's skill, freedom, or lifestyle - from a playwright envying another's technique to someone regretting they never went to college.
Why do people look up quotes about envy?
Envy is an emotion most people feel but rarely admit to, so readers often search for words that name it honestly rather than dress it up as something else.
Is there a quote about envying artistic freedom specifically?
Yes - one entry reflects on how artists working under strict, controlling regimes are sometimes quietly envied by artists who work freely, which flips the usual assumption about who has it better.
Do any of these quotes connect envy to growing up?
One does, describing envy felt as a teenager watching friends express themselves boldly through how they dressed and lived, while feeling more reserved by comparison.
What's a good related topic to read after this?
Try Alone quotes for more on the private, less-discussed side of everyday emotion.

From artists working under strict regimes to teenagers eyeing bolder peers, this page shows envy as something almost universal. For related reflections on self-comparison, see Authorities quotes.