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

Years ago, in the early days of the deep learning revolution, a friend asked whether the whole field of AI research, which is roughly 70 percent male, existed because men were jealous of women’s ability to create life. —Meghan O’Gieblyn, The New York Review of Books, 6 June 2026

In the movie, Tom is a jock who briefly dates Sandy (Olivia Newton-John), who's trying to make Danny (John Travolta) jealous. —Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026

The Hurricanes went 12-1, flattening opponents by applying the kind of smooth, inevitable pressure that would make a Zamboni driver jealous. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 3 June 2026

The space includes table football, board and video games, and staff can arrange certain special activities of which the parents of the youngsters involved might be more than a little jealous, among them sushi masterclasses with Mitsuru Tsukada, the boss of Izumi. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 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