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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.
Examples of jealousy in a Sentence
Mekishana Pierre Published, EW.com, 16 June 2025
Someone once told me that jealousy is fine, and envy is bad.
—Andrew Goldman, Vulture, 16 June 2025
At the core of every joke about Baby Boomers lies a seed of jealousy.
—Charley Locke, The Atlantic, 13 June 2025
But on the stand, William said Martha was consumed by jealousy of her pretty stepdaughter.
—Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for jealousy
Cite this Entry
“Jealousy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jealousy. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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jealousy
noun
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