jealous

1 of 2

adjective

jeal·​ous ˈje-ləs 

1

: hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage : envious

His success made his old friends jealous.

They were jealous of his success.

2

a

: intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness

… jealous of the slightest interference in household management …

—Havelock Ellis

b

: tending to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness

a jealous husband

3

: vigilant in guarding a possession

… new colonies were jealous of their new independence.

—Scott Buchanan

jealously adverb

jealousness noun

Usage of Jealous and Envious

Some assert that only envious is correctly used to describe someone who feels or shows a very strong desire for something that belongs to someone else, but in truth both envious and jealous commonly carry this meaning. Jealous alone is used to describe someone who tends to suspect unfaithfulness.

a jealous lover

jealousness

2 of 2

noun

jeal·​ous·​ness

plural -es

: jealousy

Did you know?

Zealous vs. Jealous

Zealous and jealous share not just a rhyme, but an etymology. Both words ultimately come from the Latin zelus “jealousy,” and in the past their meanings were somewhat closer to each other than they are today. In the 16th and 17th centuries, zealous occasionally was used in biblical writing to refer to a quality of apprehensiveness or jealousy of another. By the 18th century, however, it had completely diverged in meaning from jealous, signifying “warmly engaged or ardent on behalf of someone or something.” Today, zealous often carries a connotation of excessive feeling: it typically means “fiercely partisan” or “uncompromisingly enthusiastic.”

Synonyms of jealous

Adjective

• possessive

Examples of jealous in a Sentence

Adjective

His success has made some of his old friends jealous.

She became very jealous whenever he talked to other women.

He was in a jealous rage.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Detectives received an early tip that Velasquez’s husband may have been jealous of the women’s close friendship, but the couple did not respond to requests to speak with investigators at the time, and the motive remains unclear, police said. — Star-Telegram Staff. Produced With Ai Assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 July 2026

Garcia’s Ford seems not just jealous but borderline apoplectic. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026

Tensions escalated when Killian became jealous of Blake and Ashley’s growing connection and continued communicating with Ashley. — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026

His length would make most of the offensive tackles in this class jealous, and his ability to move and find the ball at his size is rare. — Nick Baumgardner, New York Times, 22 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English jelous, from Anglo-French gelus, from Vulgar Latin *zelosus, from Late Latin zelus zeal — more at zeal

Noun

Middle English jelousnes, from jelous + -nes -ness

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Rhymes for jealous

• bellis
• felis
• fellas
• pelisse
• trellis
• zealous
• michaelis
• nucellus
• ocellus
• overzealous

Kids Definition

jealous

adjective

jeal·​ous ˈjel-əs 

1

: demanding complete devotion

2

: feeling mean resentment toward a rival or competitor

3

: fearful of the loss of a loved one's devotion

4

: watchful, careful

jealously adverb