begrudge
/bɪˈɡrʌdʒ
/verb
1 [with two objects] Envy (someone) the possession or enjoyment of (something): she begrudged Martin his affluence...
- There can be few who begrudged her the personal happiness she seems to have obtained following her marriage to Commander, now Commodore, Laurence.
- Despite the forced change to his hunting habits, Bill doesn't begrudge the summer people their little bits of Nova Scotian paradise.
- I'm always conscious that some people will begrudge me this carefree lifestyle because I am on a sole parent's pension.
Synonyms
envy, grudge, resent;
be jealous of, be envious of, be resentful of
2 [with object] Give reluctantly or resentfully: nobody begrudges a single penny spent on health (as adjective begrudging) begrudging admiration from a rival...
- I spend a lot of money on them; I don't begrudge a penny of it.
- I begrudge every penny of taxpayers' cash going to athletes while people are forced to wait for hip operations or cancer treatment.
- Make this a room that the whole family wants to be in, preferably all at once, and you'll not begrudge a penny of the thousands it'll cost you.
Synonyms
resent, feel aggrieved about, feel bitter about, be annoyed about, be angry about, be displeased about, be resentful of, grudge, mind, object to, take exception to, regret;
give unwillingly, give reluctantly, give resentfully, give stintingly, be dissatisfied with
Derivatives
begrudger
- You do hear a few begrudgers complaining, but that was always the case anyway, and if smoking weren't banned in pubs they'd find something else to moan about.
- I did not know then that there were begrudgers who just simply can't bear to think that people are enjoying a special day out that may or may not be the first day of a lifetime.
- We have become a nation of whingers and selfish begrudgers.
begrudgingly
- So I begrudgingly agreed that we would cook something.
- And I begrudgingly have to admit they probably deserved to win.
- The teller continued to argue the point before begrudgingly conceding her demand was against bank policy.