Meanings
- Irelanduncountableresentment or envy of the success of a peer; criticism of ostentatious display of success.
If proof were needed that begrudgery was dead, we need look no further than the existence of VIP magazine.
2004, John Waters, The politburo has decided that you are unwell, page 2832 more examples
a certain sense of resentment at economically successful countries (what the Irish themselves call their national vice of begrudgery)
1978, Gerard Quinn, “Ireland and the European Monetary System”, in Studies, volume 67, page 275Joseph Lee's Ireland 1912-1985 seems to confirm the intuition of the writers in presenting an Ireland in which an alarming political and economic retardation was linked to begrudgery, "a deadly alloy of envy, jealousy and spite".
1998 Nina Witoszek, Patrick F. Sheeran, "The Tradition of Vernacular Hatred" in Talking to the Dead: A Study of Irish Funerary Traditions (Costerus New Series, Vol.117, p.114)Synonyms: tall poppy syndrome
Synonyms & antonyms
nounresentment or envy of the success of a peer; criticism of ostentatious display of success.
Origin
Cite this entry
begrudgery. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begrudgery
“begrudgery.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begrudgery. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “begrudgery,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/begrudgery.
Source: begrudgery on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.