Ollie Saunders
12-24-2008, 02:00 PM
I don't really understand this. I wonder if the contributors to this forum might be able to help me understand the difference.
jealous: feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages
envious: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck
There's also this note which hasn't helped me, although I get the impression it really should:Envious implies wanting something that belongs to another and to which one has no particular right or claim (: envious of her good fortune).
Jealous may refer to a strong feeling of envy (: it is hard not to be jealous of a man with a job like his), or it may imply an intense effort to hold on to what one possesses ( | jealous of what little time she has to herself); it is often associated with distrust, suspicion, anger, and other negative emotions ( | a jealous wife).
Perhaps I can be forgiven for my confusion considering the use of "envy" in the definition of jealousy and "jealousy" in the definition of envy.
jealous: feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages
envious: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck
There's also this note which hasn't helped me, although I get the impression it really should:Envious implies wanting something that belongs to another and to which one has no particular right or claim (: envious of her good fortune).
Jealous may refer to a strong feeling of envy (: it is hard not to be jealous of a man with a job like his), or it may imply an intense effort to hold on to what one possesses ( | jealous of what little time she has to herself); it is often associated with distrust, suspicion, anger, and other negative emotions ( | a jealous wife).
Perhaps I can be forgiven for my confusion considering the use of "envy" in the definition of jealousy and "jealousy" in the definition of envy.