Jealous vs. Envious - Merriam-Webster

One might almost say that these two words are used as if they were interchangeable ... The words are scarcely synonymous, however. Envy means discontented ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut UsageNotes Jealousvs.Envious Thewordsareoftenusedassynonyms,but'jealous'hasmoremeanings WhattoKnow Whilemanypeoplebelievethatjealousmeansfearingsomeonewilltakewhatyouhave,andenviousmeansdesiringwhatsomeoneelsehas,historicalusageshowsthatbothmean"covetous"andareinterchangeablewhendescribingdesiringsomeoneelse'spossessions.However,whenreferringtoromanticfeelings,onlyjealouscanbeusedtomean"possessivelysuspicious,"asin"ajealoushusband." Isthereadifferencebetweenjealousandenvious?Thatdependsonwhoyouask.Somepeoplehaveaviewinthismatterthatissimilartothatexpressedbythenotedlexicographicscholar,HomerSimpson:“I’mnotjealous!I’menvious.Jealousyiswhenyouworrysomeonewilltakewhatyouhave...envyiswantingwhatsomeoneelsehas.”Others,however,donotmakethisdistinction,ordifferentiatebetweenthesetwowordsinanotherfashion.Let’slookatsomeofthewaysthatjealousandenviousoverlap. Though'jealous'and'envious'maybothmean"covetous,"only'jealous'maybeusedtomean"possessivelysuspicious." WordOrigins Bothwordsarefairlyold,havingbeeninregularuseinEnglishsincethe13thcentury,andbothwordshaveaccruedanumberofshadesofmeaningovertheyears.Thefactthateachofthesewordshasnumerousmeaningsmakesitsomewhatimpracticaltosay“jealousmeansX,andenviousmeansY.”Butthismatterofimpracticalityhasproventobelittledeterrenttomanypeoplewhohaveinsistedthateachoneofthesewordsdoesindeedhaveasingletruesense. Herearesomeofthecommentsofferedonthesetwowords,takenfromusageguidespublishedsincethemiddleofthe20thcentury: Onemightalmostsaythatthesetwowordsareusedasiftheywereinterchangeable...Thewordsarescarcelysynonymous,however.Envymeansdiscontentedlongingforsomeoneelse’sadvantages.Jealousymeansunpleasantsuspicion,orapprehensionofrivalship.—TheodoreM.Bernstein,TheCarefulWriter,1965 Therearethreedifferentwaysinwhichjealouscanbeused.Themostcommonis...wherethemeaningis“fearfuloflosingattention.”Anotherbroadsenseis“possessive”or“protective”...thirdusageisinthesenseof“envious,”asofanotherpersonbecauseofhisorherbelongings,abilities,orachievements.—WilliamandMaryMorris,HarperDictionaryofContemporaryUsage(2nded.),1985 Jealousyisproperlyrestrictedtocontextsinvolvingemotionalrivalry;envyisusedmorebroadlyofresentfulcontemplationofamorefortunateperson.—BryanA.Garner,Garner’sModernAmericanUsage(3rded.),2009 Onebeginstoseewhatamuddlequestionsofusagemaybewhenonecontemplatesthefactthatallthreeoftheabovebooksaremakingpronouncementsonthewordsjealousy(andjealous)andenvy,allofwhichareinsomewaytrue,andallofwhicharealsoinsomesubstantialwaydifferentfromoneanother.Thereareindeedsomesemanticdistinctionsthatmaybemadebetweenthesewords,butitshouldalsobenotedthatmanyeducatedpeopleusetheminterchangeably. Envyismostoftenusedtorefertoacovetousfeelingtowardanotherperson’sattributes,possessions,orstatureinlife.Manypeopleusejealoustomeanthesamething.“Iamenviousofhisgoodfortune”couldbechangedto“Iamjealousofhisgoodfortune”withoutsubstantiallychangingthemeaningofthesentenceformostpeople.So,jealouscanbeusedforthissenseofenvious. JealousyandRomance Jealousisalsooftenencounteredadjectivallytorefertosomeunwelcomefeelingsinaromanticvein,typicallyinwhichoneharborssuspicionofinfidelityorthepossibilitythatone’slovewillbestolenaway.Animportantdistinctionhereisthatenviouswillnotserveasasubstituteforthisuseofjealous.“Hewasalwaysajealoushusband”cannotbechangedto“Hewasalwaysanenvioushusband”withoutsubstantiallychangingthemeaningofthesentence. Sowhilejealousmaybeusedtomeanboth“covetous”and“possessivelysuspicious”,enviousisonlycomfortableinthefirstofthosetwosenses.Whichofcourseraisesthefollowingquestion:giventhatjealoushasmoremeaningsthanenvious,doesthewordenviousfeelenviousorjealous(orboth)ofitssynonym’sgreatersemanticbreadth? Share MoreWordsAtPlay You're(Probably)SayingItWrong 18wordsevenyoumightbemispronouncing Top10Wordsofthe'90s Thehistoriesof'dot-com,''grunge,'andotherwordsofthenineties WordsWe'reWatching Herearesomeofthewordswe'recurrentlylookingatforaspotinthedictionary. TheHilariousHistoryof'OK' TheEnglishlanguage'smostsuccessfulexportisajoke TRENDINGNOW queenconsort espionage,EspionageAct magnetometer SEEALL SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged AsktheEditors Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... 'AllIntensivePurposes'or'AllIntentsandPurposes'? 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