green-eyed monster

noun

: jealousy imagined as a monster that attacks people

—usually used with the

Finally, he suffered from professional jealousy, although, at least in public, he kept the green-eyed monster at bay most of the time.

—Ron Fimrite

Can it be that Suzanne was envious because you had a date? It sounds as if the green-eyed monster may have taken over and clouded her judgment.

—Ann Landers

Synonyms

• covetousness
• enviousness
• envy
• invidiousness
• jealousy
• resentment

Examples of green-eyed monster in a Sentence

the green-eyed monster dogged her whenever she visited her wealthy sister

Recent Examples on the Web

The green-eyed monster can foster environments where people act dishonestly and undermine, belittle or freeze out their colleagues, or even sabotage their work. —Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2021

Users were generous, without the snark of Twitter or any traces of envy, the green-eyed monster that stalks Instagram. —John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022

Honour the green-eyed monster, allow it some space in your psyche. —Amy Klein, refinery29.com, 12 Sep. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined above