jealousy
B2General (Formal to Informal). More common in personal, emotional, and literary contexts than in highly technical ones.
Definition
Meaning
A feeling of resentment, envy, or bitterness towards someone because of their advantages, possessions, or relationships; also includes protective suspicion regarding a partner's fidelity.
Can refer to vigilant safeguarding of one's own rights, possessions, or position (e.g., 'guarding a secret with jealousy'). In a broader sense, it describes a state of competitive rivalry or anxious possessiveness.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Encompasses both envy (wanting what someone else has) and suspicion (fear of losing something/someone to a rival). The context usually clarifies which sense is primary.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No major lexical differences. Usage frequency and cultural connotations are similar.
Connotations
Universally carries strong negative emotional weight. Slightly more likely to appear in British literary and dramatic contexts describing intense passions.
Frequency
Comparable frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
jealousy of + NOUN/PERSON (e.g., jealousy of her success)jealousy over + NOUN (e.g., jealousy over the promotion)jealousy between + PLURAL NOUN (e.g., jealousy between siblings)jealousy at + GERUND/NOUN (e.g., jealousy at seeing them together)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Green with envy (related)”
- “The green-eyed monster (direct synonym in literary contexts)”
- “Jealousy rears its ugly head”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used to describe counterproductive rivalries within teams or resentment over promotions.
Academic
Studied in psychology, sociology, and literature as a fundamental human emotion driving conflict and plot.
Everyday
Common in discussions of relationships, friendships, family dynamics, and social comparisons.
Technical
Rare. May appear in specific psychological diagnoses or ethological studies of animal behaviour.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- She confessed to still jealousying his friendship with her sister, years later.
- He tends to jealousy any attention given to his colleagues.
American English
- It's not healthy to jealousy your neighbor's new car.
- She openly jealousied his rapid promotion.
adverb
British English
- He watched jealously as his rival accepted the award.
- She guarded her research ideas jealously.
American English
- He glanced jealously at their new truck.
- The company holds its patents jealously.
adjective
British English
- He gave her a jealous look when she danced with his mate.
- The industry is fiercely jealous of its trade secrets.
American English
- She felt a jealous pang seeing them together.
- The team was jealous of its winning record.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Her brother felt jealousy when she got a new bike.
- There is no jealousy between good friends.
- His jealousy caused many arguments in their relationship.
- She tried to hide her jealousy of her sister's success.
- Workplace jealousy can seriously damage team morale and productivity.
- The intense media coverage of the celebrity wedding sparked public jealousy.
- The novel explores the corroding effects of jealousy and suspicion in a cloistered community.
- His jealousy, a vestige of profound insecurity, manifested as constant criticism.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'JEALOUSY' containing 'JEAL' which sounds like 'ZEAL' – an overzealous, possessive feeling.
Conceptual Metaphor
JEALOUSY IS A MONSTER/GREEN CREATURE ('the green-eyed monster'), JEALOUSY IS A DISEASE/POSION ('consumed by jealousy', 'poisoned by jealousy'), JEALOUSY IS FIRE/HEAT ('burning with jealousy').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Russian 'ревность' (revnost') is a near-perfect semantic match for the romantic suspicion sense but is less commonly used for the general 'envy' sense, which is more often 'зависть' (zavist'). English 'jealousy' covers both concepts.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing 'jealousy' (focus on fear of loss) with 'envy' (focus on desire for what others have), though overlap is accepted. Incorrect preposition: 'jealousy for' (usually incorrect) instead of 'jealousy of/over'. Spelling error: 'jealosy'.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'jealousy' LEAST likely to be used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditionally, jealousy involves a third party and fear of losing something (often a relationship) you already have ('jealousy of a rival'). Envy is a two-party emotion involving desire for something you don't have ('envy of someone's success'). In modern usage, 'jealousy' is often used for both concepts.
Rarely. It is almost exclusively a negative emotion. However, in phrases like 'a jealous guardian of tradition,' it implies a vigilant protectiveness, which can have a positive connotation of care and preservation.
'Jealousy of' is the standard and most common collocation (jealousy of his wealth). 'Jealousy towards' is less common but acceptable, focusing more on the direction of the feeling.
Stress the first syllable: JEL-uh-see. The 'J' is a soft 'dzh' sound, the first 'e' is like in 'bed' (/ɛ/), the 'ou' is a schwa (/ə/), and the final 'y' is an 'ee' sound (/i/).
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B1 · 49 words · Vocabulary for interpersonal and social connections.
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