# "Jealous" and "envious" are two different words! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 28, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202 "2004-07-28T01:42:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/1 "2004-07-28T01:42:05Z")
And I’m not going to tell you what the difference is either - just…_find it out yourself_!!! ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/2 "2004-07-28T01:49:27Z")
Are you STILL starting these stupid fucking threads? ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/3 "2004-07-28T02:12:51Z")
Not really. They mean pretty much the same thing. What the fuck are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/4 "2004-07-28T02:41:31Z")
> [@lambchops](#): > > Not really. They mean pretty much the same thing. > > What the fuck are you talking about? No they don’t. Decide for yourself. > **[Definition of envious | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/envious)** > > Definition of envious from Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. > **[Definition of jealous | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/jealous)** > > Definition of jealous from Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/5 "2004-07-28T02:45:31Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > No they don’t. Decide for yourself. > > [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=envious](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=envious) > > [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=jealous](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=jealous) From the jealous definition, in the second definition (emphasis mine): > [@](#): > > Resentful or bitter in rivalry; **envious** : jealous of the success of others. So what the fuck is this about? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/6 "2004-07-28T02:51:39Z")
> [@porcupine](#): > > From the jealous definition, in the second definition (emphasis mine): > > So what the fuck is this about? I really have no idea. But the words are not really interchangeble. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/7 "2004-07-28T02:55:04Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > I really have no idea. But the words are not really interchangeble. Yeah because one starts with a J and one starts with an E. From the envious definition: > [@](#): > > See Synonyms at jealous. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/8 "2004-07-28T03:02:31Z")
They mean more or less the same thing, but to me “envious” has milder connotations. I am envious that he has a hot girlfriend. I am jealous that he has a hot girlfriend. The first seems more easy going; the second harsher, more emotional. Maybe it’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/9 "2004-07-28T03:04:06Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Yeah because one starts with a J and one starts with an E. > > From the envious definition: > Haj Well… Jealous is like I hate you for having something I don’t have. Envious is like I wish I have what you have. If that’s the same…so be it. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/10 "2004-07-28T03:17:44Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > And I’m not going to tell you what the difference is either - just…_find it out yourself_!!! Regardless of whether they are interchangeable or mean the same thing, the OP is correct. They are, in fact, two different **words**. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/11 "2004-07-28T03:45:07Z")
Well, if you’re just angry that someone has something that you don’t, it could either be jealousy or envy. Otherwise, they are indeed similar and I understand how people confuse them, however there is a difference. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/12 "2004-07-28T04:08:40Z")
Well, yeh, but… To my mind, “envious/envy” reflects a wish to have a desirable something that someone else has. “Jealous/jealousy” suggests hostile possessiveness about something one has (or thinks one has or ought to have). Who ever heard of having “penis jealousy”? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/13 "2004-07-28T04:15:11Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Well… > > Jealous is like I hate you for having something I don’t have. As I understood it, or misunderstood it, as the case may be, jealous is like I hate you because I fear you will try to take what I have. ---
**Author:** ![metrochic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@metrochic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metrochic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/14 "2004-07-28T04:22:49Z")
Wow. Gotta say…I’m glad I paid to stick around here. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/15 "2004-07-28T04:30:57Z")
I still think they’re interchangeable in nearly all situations. They have the meaning of wanting something someone else has.They have similar negative connotations. Certainly not enough to start a Pit thread about. When is **Pizzabrat** going to come back in to tell us what the hell got his gander up? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/16 "2004-07-28T04:47:04Z")
I think the main difference is that jealous is nearly always the word applied to emotional relationships between people, whereas envy seems more about possessions or achievements. When you’re afraid your girlfriend has been sleeping around, you’re jealous, not envious. If your neighbor gets a spectacular 51" flat screen TV, you’re envious. You might say you’re jealous, but you’d probably be overstating the case. (Unless you’re _really_ into giant-screen TVs.) So jealousy is a stronger, less easily controlled emotion: the green-eyed monster. Envy is not as powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/17 "2004-07-28T05:25:14Z")
So which is the one that inspires you to put Gwyneth Paltrow’s severed head in a box? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/18 "2004-07-28T10:14:41Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > So which is the one that inspires you to put Gwyneth Paltrow’s severed head in a box? feng shui? ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/19 "2004-07-28T12:23:42Z")
> [@lambchops](#): > > I still think they’re interchangeable in nearly all situations. They have the meaning of wanting something someone else has.They have similar negative connotations. Certainly not enough to start a Pit thread about. When is **Pizzabrat** going to come back in to tell us what the hell got his gander up? I’m done - people more eloquent than I already explained it. “Jealousy” refers to something you already have, “envy” refers to something you don’t have. And if [“ask”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=266270) can spawn a thread, this can. I think more people use “jealous” and “envious” interchangably than mispronounce “ask”. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202/20 "2004-07-28T14:09:09Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > And I’m not going to tell you what the difference is either - just…_find it out yourself_!!! \*\*Stupid \*\* and **Idiotic** are two different words too. Funny how they both apply to this thread. :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jealous-and-envious-are-two-different-words/257202.md?page=2)