Learn English – “to be jealous” Vs. “to envy” – what is the difference

usageword-usage

What is the difference between "to be jealous" and "to envy"?
I always used both interchangeably but I was told that actually there is a difference between these two.

I opened the dictionary ("jealous" and "envy") and checked the definitions which each one of them looks correct also for the second word, and I still don't understand what is the difference between them in practical use.

Best Answer

The following in an extract from an interesting piece by M-W about the difference in usage and meaning between jealous and envious in which they state that despite the two terms tend to overlap in usage, there is a difference in the meaning they carry, as explained below:

Some people have a view in this matter that is similar to that expressed by the noted lexicographic scholar, Homer Simpson: “I’m not jealous! I’m envious. Jealousy is when you worry someone will take what you have ... envy is wanting what someone else has.” Others, however, do not make this distinction, or differentiate between these two words in another fashion. Let’s look at some of the ways that jealous and envious overlap.

............

So while jealous may be used to mean both “covetous” and “possessively suspicious”, envious is only in the first of those two senses. Which of course raises the following question: given that jealous has more meanings than envious, does the word envious feel envious or jealous (or both) of its synonym’s greater semantic breadth?

Related Topic