invidious

Related to invidious: temporize

invidious

unfairly discriminating; injurious; hateful; calculated to give offense; causing animosity or resentment: an invidious comment

Not to be confused with:

insidious – progressing inconspicuously but harmfully: an insidious disease; treacherous; crafty; stealthily deceitful: an insidious agreement; corrupting; cunning, wily

in·vid·i·ous

(ĭn-vĭd′ē-əs)

adj.

1. Tending to rouse ill will, animosity, or resentment: invidious accusations.

2. Offensive and unfair: invidious distinctions.

3. Archaic Envious.

[Latin invidiōsus, envious, hostile, from invidia, envy; see envy.]

in·vid′i·ous·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

invidious

(ɪnˈvɪdɪəs)

adj

1. incurring or tending to arouse resentment, unpopularity, etc: an invidious task.

2. (of comparisons or distinctions) unfairly or offensively discriminating

3. obsolete grudging; envious

[C17: from Latin invidiōsus full of envy, from invidia envy]

inˈvidiously adv

inˈvidiousness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•vid•i•ous

(ɪnˈvɪd i əs)

adj.

1. calculated to create ill will; causing resentment or envy.

2. offensively or unfairly discriminating; injurious: invidious comparisons.

3. Obs. envious.

[1600–10; < Latin invidiōsus, derivative of invidi(a) envy]

in•vid′i•ous•ly, adv.

in•vid′i•ous•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

invidious - containing or implying a slight or showing prejudice; "discriminatory attitudes and practices"; "invidious comparisons"

discriminatory

unfavorable, unfavourable - not encouraging or approving or pleasing; "unfavorable conditions"; "an unfavorable comparison"; "unfavorable comments", "unfavorable impression"

invidious

adjective

1. undesirable, unpleasant, hateful, thankless He's in the invidious position of having to break the bad news.
undesirable pleasant, desirable, pleasing

2. unfair, unjust, unjustified, inequitable It is invidious to make a selection.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

invidious

adjective

1. Damaging to the reputation:

calumnious, defamatory, detractive, injurious, scandalous, slanderous.

Law: libelous.

2. Resentfully or painfully desirous of another's advantages:

covetous, envious, green-eyed, jealous.

Translations

odioso spiacevole antipatico

invidious

[ɪnˈvɪdɪəs] ADJ [job, task] → odioso, ingrato; [comparison] → injusto
I find myself in an invidious position → me encuentro en una situación ingrata
it would be invidious to mention names → sería inapropiado mencionar nombres

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

invidious

[ɪnˈvɪdiəs] adj

[comparison] → indu(e)
We should guard against invidious comparisons with Scotland Yard → Nous devrions nous garder de toute comparaison indue avec Scotland Yard.

[task] → peu enviable

(= awkward) [position] → peu enviable
to be put in an invidious position → être placé dans une position peu enviable

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

invidious

adj remark → gehässig, boshaft; task, position → unerfreulich, unangenehm; behaviour, conduct → gemein; distinctions, comparison, discrimination → ungerecht; it would be invidious to … → es wäre ungerecht, zu …

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

invidious

[ɪnˈvɪdɪəs] adj (comparison) → ingiusto/a; (task) → poco invidiabile, antipatico/a; (choice) → imbarazzante, difficile

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References in classic literature ?

Distrust naturally creates distrust, and by nothing is good-will and kind conduct more speedily changed than by invidious jealousies and uncandid imputations, whether expressed or implied.

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The idea is too gross and too invidious to be entertained.

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Either the change in the quality of the air from heavy to light, or the sense of being amid new scenes where there were no invidious eyes upon her, sent up her spirits wonderfully.

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For which reason the antients used, on such occasions, to sacrifice to the goddess Nemesis, a deity who was thought by them to look with an invidious eye on human felicity, and to have a peculiar delight in overturning it.

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But all suppositions of this kind are invidious, and ought to be banished from the consideration of the great question before the people.

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There were so many drinks to be drunk, and as the warm magic poured through our veins and mellowed our voices and affections we knew it was no time to make invidious distinctions--to drink with this shipmate and to decline to drink with that shipmate.

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The present party of Crows, however, evinced nothing of the invidious character for which they are renowned.

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The heiress of Henry Allegre, who could secure neither obscurity nor any other alleviation to that invidious position, looked as if she would speak to Blunt from a distance; but in a moment the confident eagerness of her face died out as if killed by a sudden thought.

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This was the invidious distinction between them and the Sour-doughs, who, forsooth, made their bread from sour-dough because they had no baking-powder.

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Consider the intimate and curious acquaintance one makes with various kinds of weeds -- it will bear some iteration in the account, for there was no little iteration in the labor -- disturbing their delicate organizations so ruthlessly, and making such invidious distinctions with his hoe, levelling whole ranks of one species, and sedulously cultivating another.

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"To talk of bravery when one speaks of that war," the General remarked, "seems invidious, for it is my belief that throughout the whole of the Japanese army such a thing as fear did not exist.

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We didn't chum with the other girls, who called us little cannibals, just because we came from the Sandwich Islands, and who made invidious remarks about our ancestors banqueting on Captain Cook--which was historically untrue, and, besides, our ancestors hadn't lived in Hawaii.

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