Definition of jealous in English:

adjective

• 1Feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages.

  ‘she was always jealous of me’

  More example sentences

  • ‘They were much more intelligent than we were, and quite frankly, we were jealous of their achievements.’
  • ‘By our very nature, we are selfish, jealous, envious, stricken with strife, and sometimes downright rebellious.’
  • ‘It would be selfish to be jealous of him, and I could truthfully say I wasn't.’
  • ‘People who are envious or jealous seem to be in a perpetual state of suffering and anguish.’
  • ‘We each seek our own advantage, competing and exploiting as necessary; jealous of the success of others and determined to hold on to what we think of as ours.’
  • ‘The Soviet Union had better technology and more money to spend on it than America, and that made the Americans jealous, even envious.’
  • ‘She said they were jealous of her genius and resented her because she was a woman.’
  • ‘And her eyes were outlined in black eyeliner, making her green eyes stand out even more, which she was jealous of.’
  • ‘She had dark brown hair and bright green eyes, I was also jealous of.’
  • ‘I try not to get jealous of her affection for my dog.’
  • ‘I imagine many so-called moralists are secretly jealous of teens engaged in pleasure, as opposed to any serious moral valuation they may hold.’
  • ‘My personal view, admittedly pretty neurotic, is that the politician is jealous of hardworking people who can manage to have a good time.’
  • ‘I'm insanely jealous of people who have imaginations.’
  • ‘He is jealous of their prowess, and those qualities together in this time could be the biggest asset that we have in leadership.’
  • ‘Some English people feel jealous of Scotland's better roads, free higher education and a more efficient welfare system.’
  • ‘You are really and truly, happy for your friend because something fantastic is happening in their life, but at the same time you are so jealous of them that you want to scream.’
  • ‘I'm jealous of the people behind the popular weblogs.’
  • ‘We are trying to put an entertaining team on the park, and some people are jealous of that.’
  • ‘Despite being backstabbers and fiercely jealous of each other, I think of writers as an international guild.’
  • ‘His house is huge and his dogs were so happy and friendly when I arrived, but now the oldest seems jealous of the attention he is giving me.’

  Synonyms

  envious, covetous, desirous

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1Feeling or showing a resentful suspicion that one's partner is attracted to or involved with someone else.
     ‘a jealous husband’
     More example sentences

     • ‘We stopped sleeping together, but when Hanna got a new boyfriend I was jealous for the first time ever.’
     • ‘A jealous husband broke a man's nose because he thought someone was ‘ogling’ his wife.’
     • ‘Also, she had been asked to join study groups, but the husband was jealous, and forbade her from meeting with other students.’
     • ‘Alison told him that her husband was a jealous man, but that she would meet him as soon as she could without worry or fear that he would find them.’
     • ‘Over three quarters reported that their dating partners did something to make them jealous.’
     Synonyms

     suspicious, distrustful, mistrustful, doubting, insecure, anxious

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  2. 1.2Fiercely protective of one's rights or possessions.
     ‘the men were proud of their achievements and jealous of their independence’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Mr Dallas said Edmunds was possessive and jealous of Miss Lawrance and took the view that if he could not have her then no one else would.’
     • ‘He was too possessive of her, she was too jealous of him.’
     • ‘It means that he cares enough about you and your relationship that he is getting jealous and protective of you.’
     Synonyms

     protective, defensive, vigilant, watchful, heedful, mindful, careful, solicitous, attentive

     View synonyms
  3. 1.3(of God) demanding faithfulness and exclusive worship.
     More example sentences

     • ‘In Hebrews we also meet the strong protests of the jealous God, who is intolerant of rivals with a holy intolerance.’
     • ‘The religious justification derives from the ban on graven images, common to the jealous God of the Old Testament and to Allah.’
     • ‘God in the Old Testament of the Bible is a vengeful, jealous God that smites those who disobey him.’
     • ‘I also posed a question to him: If the Christian God was supposed to be a god of love, then why is he a jealous god?’
     • ‘Milton had become too rational and believed in a fiery jealous God rather than the forgiving Holy Spirit.’