Adjacent Words

Jealous definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

JEALOUS, a. jel'us.
1. Suspicious; apprehensive of rivalship; uneasy through fear that another has withdrawn or may withdraw from one the affections of a person he loves, or enjoy some good which he desires to obtain; followed by of, and applied both to the object of love and to the rival. We say, a young man is jealous of the woman he loves, or jealous of his rival. A man is jealous of his wife,and the wife of her husband.
2. Suspicious that we do not enjoy the affection or respect of others, or that another is more loved and respected than ourselves.
3. Emulous; full of competition.
4. Solicitous to defend the honor of; concerned for the character of.
I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts.
1 Kings 19.
5. Suspiciously vigilant; anxiously careful and concerned for.
I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. 2 Corinthians 11.
6. Suspiciously fearful.
'Tis doing wrong creates such doubts as these,
Renders us jealous and destroys our peace.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages; "he was never covetous before he met her"; "jealous of his success and covetous of his possessions"; "envious of their art collection" [syn: covetous, envious, jealous]
2: suspicious or unduly suspicious or fearful of being displaced by a rival; "a jealous lover" [syn: jealous, green-eyed, overjealous]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English jelous, from Anglo-French gelus, from Vulgar Latin *zelosus, from Late Latin zelus zeal — more at zeal Date: 13th century 1. a. intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness b. disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness 2. hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage 3. vigilant in guarding a possession <new colonies were jealous of their new independence — Scott Buchanan> • jealously adverb • jealousness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 (often foll. by of) fiercely protective (of rights etc.). 2 afraid, suspicious, or resentful of rivalry in love or affection. 3 (often foll. by of) envious or resentful (of a person or a person's advantages etc.). 4 (of God) intolerant of disloyalty. 5 (of inquiry, supervision, etc.) vigilant. Derivatives: jealously adv. Etymology: ME f. OF gelos f. med.L zelosus ZEALOUS

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Jealous Jeal"ous, a. [OE. jalous, gelus, OF. jalous, F. jaloux, LL. zelosus zealous, fr. zelus emulation, zeal, jealousy, Gr. zh^los. See Zeal, and cf. Zealous.] 1. Zealous; solicitous; vigilant; anxiously watchful. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts. --Kings xix. 10. How nicely jealous is every one of us of his own repute! --Dr. H. More. 2. Apprehensive; anxious; suspiciously watchful. 'This doing wrong creates such doubts as these, Renders us jealous and disturbs our peace. --Waller. The people are so jealous of the clergy's ambition. --Swift. 3. Exacting exclusive devotion; intolerant of rivalry. Thou shalt worship no other God; for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. --Ex. xxxiv. 14. 4. 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. If the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife. --Num. v. 14. To both these sisters have I sworn my love: Each jealous of the other, as the stung Are of the adder. --Shak. It is one of the best bonds, both of chastity and obedience, in the wife, if she think her husband wise; which she will never do if she find him jealous. --Bacon. Syn: Suspicious; anxious; envious. Usage: Jealous, Suspicious. Suspicious is the wider term. We suspect a person when we distrust his honesty and imagine he has some bad design. We are jealous when we suspect him of aiming to deprive us of what we dearly prize. Iago began by awakening the suspicions of Othello, and converted them at last into jealousy. ``Suspicion may be excited by some kind of accusation, not supported by evidence sufficient for conviction, but sufficient to trouble the repose of confidence.'' ``Jealousy is a painful apprehension of rivalship in cases that are peculiarly interesting to us.'' --Cogan.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If someone is jealous, they feel angry or bitter because they think that another person is trying to take a lover or friend, or a possession, away from them. She got insanely jealous and there was a terrible fight. ADJ • jealously The formula is jealously guarded. ADV: ADV with v 2. If you are jealous of another person's possessions or qualities, you feel angry or bitter because you do not have them. She was jealous of his wealth... You're jealous because the record company rejected your idea. ADJ: oft ADJ of n • jealously Gloria eyed them jealously. ADV: ADV after v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Envious (especially at being supplanted in the affections of another), enviously suspicious, resentful at preference, suspicious in love. 2. Anxious, apprehensive, solicitous, zealous. 3. Watchful, suspiciously vigilant.

Moby Thesaurus

anxious, begrudging, bitter, covetous, demanding, desirous of, distrustful, doubting, envious, enviousness, envying, grasping, green, green with envy, green with jealousy, green-eyed, grudging, horn-mad, insecure, invidious, invidiousness, jaundice-eyed, jaundiced, jealousy, mistrustful, mistrusting, possessive, possessory, questioning, resentful, suspicious, threatened, vulnerable, yellow, yellow-eyed