jealousy

noun

jeal·​ou·​sy ˈje-lə-sē 

plural jealousies

1

: a jealous disposition, attitude, or feeling

a marriage destroyed by jealousy

petty jealousies

2

: zealous vigilance

cherish their official political freedom with fierce jealousy

—Paul Blanshard

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.

Synonyms

• covetousness
• enviousness
• envy
• green-eyed monster
• invidiousness
• resentment

Examples of jealousy in a Sentence

petty jealousies among political rivals

a marriage ruined by infidelity and jealousy

He was driven crazy with jealousy.

He was unable to control his jealousies.

Recent Examples on the Web

Often shock is accompanied by other emotions, such as sadness, resentment, jealousy, and frustration. —Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 11 Sep. 2024

Though Lawrence was apparently the only one whose jealousy made an impression on Timberlake, Strong and Friedle commiserated the memory of sharing Fishel’s attention with the massively popular boy band. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 10 Sep. 2024

Neither did Zoë Goldsborough, a graduate student who had spent months jotting down every social interaction that occurred among the chimps, from nine to five, four days a week, for a study on jealousy. —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2024

This stirs the pot, leaving us with no choice but to confront lingering relationship issues while emphasizing the shadowy attributes of Pluto, which are jealousy, possessiveness and the misuse of power, among others. —Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see jealous

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

jealousy

noun

jeal·​ou·​sy ˈjel-ə-sē 

plural jealousies

: a jealous disposition, attitude, or feeling