Basic Details
Word: Covetous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Having a strong, greedy wish to own something that belongs to someone else.
Synonyms: envious, greedy, jealous, grasping
Antonyms: content, generous, satisfied
How to Spell Covetous
Syllables: cov - et - ous
Tricky part: The middle is et, from covet, and the end is ous. Students write covetus, covitous or covetious.
Watch out for: covetus, covitous, covetious
Memory tip: You covet something you want badly; add ous to covet and you have covetous. There is no extra i.
Usage Examples
Example 1: He cast covetous glances at his neighbour's new bicycle.
Example 2: The covetous king in the fairy tale wanted every treasure in the land.
Example 3: Try not to be covetous of a friend's success; be happy for them.
Fun Fact
The last of the Ten Commandments in the Bible warns against coveting what belongs to a neighbour.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. mischievious 2. covetous 3. ambitous 4. courtious
a) greedily wanting what belongs to someone else
b) polite and respectful
c) playful in a slightly naughty way
d) having a strong wish to succeed
Show answer
a) greedily wanting what belongs to someone else. Covetous is spelt right; the others should be ambitious, courteous and mischievous.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to covetous as used in the sentence:
The merchant in the folk tale looked with covetous eyes at the farmer's field of golden wheat.
a) sleepy
b) generous
c) envious
d) content
Show answer
c) envious. Covetous eyes want what someone else has, which is envious.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
cov_t_us
a) e, e
b) e, o
c) i, o
d) a, o
Show answer
b) e, o. Covet has an e, and the ending is ous: cov-et-ous.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A covetous person ____.
a) shares food with everyone at lunch
b) is late for school every day
c) wants things that belong to others
d) speaks very little in class
Show answer
c) wants things that belong to others
2. Which verb is covetous built from?
a) covet
b) covert
c) cover
d) covey
Show answer
a) covet
