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  1. jealous love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position.
  2. adj. Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious: jealous of the success of others.
  3. adj. Inclined to suspect rivalry.
  4. adj. Having to do with or arising from feelings of envy, apprehension, or bitterness: jealous thoughts.
  5. adj. Vigilant in guarding something: We are jealous of our good name.
  6. adj. Intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity; autocratic: a jealous God.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Full of zeal; zealous in the service of a person or cause; solicitous for the honor or interests of one's self or of another, or of some institution, cause, etc.: followed by for.
  2. Anxiously watchful; suspiciously vigilant; much concerned; suspicious.
  3. Specifically Troubled by the suspicion or the knowledge that the love, good will, or success one desires to retain or secure has been diverted from one's self to another or others; suspicious or bitterly resentful of successful rivalry: absolute or followed by of with an object: as, a jealous husband or lover; to be jealous of a competitor in love or in business, of one's mistress, or of the attentions of others toward her.
  4. Fearful; afraid.
  5. Doubtful.
  6. Synonyms See envy.
  7. To suspect; distrust.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Suspecting, suspicious.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Zealous; solicitous; vigilant; anxiously watchful.
  2. adj. Apprehensive; anxious; suspiciously watchful.
  3. adj. Demanding exclusive devotion; intolerant of rivalry.
  4. adj. Disposed to suspect rivalry in matters of interest and affection; apprehensive regarding the motives of possible rivals, or the fidelity of friends; distrustful; having morbid fear of rivalry in love or preference given to another; painfully suspicious of the faithfulness of husband, wife, or lover.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. suspicious or unduly suspicious or fearful of being displaced by a rival
  2. adj. showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages

Etymologies

  1. First coined 1382, Old French jalous, from Late Latin zelosus, from Ancient Greek ζῆλος (zēlos, "zeal, jealousy"), from ζηλόω (zēloō, "to emulate, to be jealous"). Cognate to zeal. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English jelous, from Old French gelos, jealous, zealous, from Vulgar Latin *zēlōsus, from Late Latin zēlus, zeal; see zeal. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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synonyms (8)

Words with the same meaning

  1. suspicious
  1. anxious
  1. envious
  1. zealous
  1. solicitous
  1. vigilant
  1. apprehensive
  1. distrustful

equivalents (3)

Other words for ‘jealous’

  1. distrustful
  1. wishful
  1. desirous

same context (11)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. suspicious
  2. selfish
  1. cruel
  2. proud
  1. anxious
  2. envious
  1. foolish
  2. vindictive
  1. greedy
  2. stubborn
  1. keen

rhymes (6)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. Bruxelles
  1. Marcellus
  1. fellas
  1. overzealous
  1. trellis
  1. zealous

reverse dictionary (34)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. jalous
  2. jalouse
  3. covetous
  4. envious
  5. overjealous
  6. jealous
  1. jealously
  2. jealousness
  3. jealousy
  4. esprit de corps
  5. imaginative
  6. jelous
  1. miser
  2. rival-hating
  3. snarl
  4. illy
  5. gelous
  6. gelus
  1. injealous
  2. jealoushood
  3. emulation
  4. Sigurd
  5. Rizzio
  6. green-eyed
  1. dark
  2. Browning
  3. unjealous
  4. green-eyed monster
  5. joseph
  6. emulous
  1. griffinism
  2. io
  3. suspicious
  4. zealous

tags (1)

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  1. often misspelled

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Lists

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Comments

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  • bilby Lennon's dead so you'll have to do your own version of 'Envious Guy'. Nov 19, 2011

  • rolig In fact, the distinction is still very much alive in certain contexts. I don't think anyone would disagree that "a jealous husband" means something very different from "an envious husband". But whereas "envious" still cannot mean what "jealous" has traditionally meant (fearful about losing something one thinks one possesses); "jealous" has been encroaching on the territory of "envious". Nov 19, 2011

  • jennarenn That distinction is great! Just looked it up, and God is referred to as jealous in the Bible, but never envious. Very cool. :) Nov 18, 2011

  • rolig Ru, that is the way I have always understood the distinction. But since the phrase, "I'm so jealous!" (which really is a kind of compliment when said to a friend -- meaning, essentially and paradoxically, "I celebrate your good fortune") has become ubiquitous, the finer distinction may be lost on the hoi polloi. Nov 18, 2011

  • yarb Jealousy can have that meaning, but I think it's most often used synonymously with envy. But it's a nice distinction.

    I'm a fan of the word envy. It's all scrunched-up and spiteful-sounding. Nov 18, 2011

  • ruzuzu Have we discussed the difference between jealousy and envy around here anywhere? Is there a difference? I always think of jealousy as fear of losing something you already have and envy as desiring something you don't have. But I don't know that people make that distinction anymore (if they ever did). Nov 18, 2011

  • bilby No I'm not! Jul 21, 2008

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‘jealous’ has been looked up 4267 times, loved by 1 person, added to 18 lists, commented on 7 times, and has a Scrabble score of 14.