begrudge

Begrudge is a transitive verb used to describe feeling or showing resentment toward someone receiving something or toward the act of giving or allowing something. It can denote both a reluctance to let someone have or enjoy something and a reluctance to spend time or resources on someone else. The common construction is to say someone “begrudges” someone else something, or to describe a begrudging attitude toward doing something.

Common usages include phrases like “I do not begrudge him his success” and “She did not begrudge paying the fee.” The verb can express a negative sentiment toward another person’s possession, achievement, or privilege, or toward the expenditure of one’s own time, money, or effort on someone else. The adverb form “begrudgingly” describes a reluctant or resentful manner of action, as in “He accepted the offer begrudgingly.”

Etymology traces to the noun grudge, with the prefix be- forming a verb that conveys action tied to resentment or withholding. The sense is closely linked to envy, resentment, or reluctance, but it can appear in a positive idiom when used to mean not resenting or withholding something from someone.

Related terms include grudge, envy, resent, and grudging. In usage, begrudge typically carries a moral or emotional nuance and is less about legal or contractual withholding than about personal feeling. Antonyms include grant freely, bestow, or give willingly.