Did you know?
Jealousy vs. Envy
Depending on who you ask, jealousy and envy are either exact synonyms, totally different words, or near-synonyms with some degree of semantic overlap and some differences. It is difficult to make the case, based on the evidence of usage that we have, for either of the first two possibilities. Both jealousy and envy are often used to indicate that a person is covetous of something that someone else has, but jealousy carries the particular sense of “zealous vigilance” and tends to be applied more exclusively to feelings of protectiveness regarding one’s own advantages or attachments. In the domain of romance, it is more commonly found than envy. If you were to say “your salt-shaker collection fills me with jealousy,” most people would take it to mean much the same thing as “your salt-shaker collection fills me with envy.” But if someone made a flirtatious comment to your partner, you would likely say that it caused you jealousy, not envy.
Examples of jealousy in a Sentence
Erica Gerald Mason, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Step Two: Identify the feeling Material jealousy often appears in toddlerhood.
—Jenna Autuori-Dedic, Parents, 11 Apr. 2025
Brooker turned over the writers’ reins to Jesse Armstrong (who would go on to create Succession) and received an unsparing melodrama of jealousy, insecurity, and hot tempers.
—Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
Of course, not every moment of comparison or jealousy is an immediate red flag, Suzanne Degges-White, PhD, LCPC, a licensed counselor and chair of the department of counseling and higher education at the Northern Illinois University College of Education, tells SELF.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jealousy
Cite this Entry
“Jealousy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jealousy. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jealousy
noun
Share