Jealous

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɛləs/

Definitions

1. Feeling resentment toward someone because of their possessions, achievements, or advantages that you desire for yourself
2. A strong emotional state characterized by envy towards others' good fortune, apprehension about losing affection, and rivalry informed by insecurity or desire for what others possess
3. An emotional response involving discontent or resentment due to another's success or possessions, accompanied by fear of losing one’s own valued relationships or status

Etymology: Jealous and zealous are, in a sense, siblings that went different ways. Both descend from ancient Greek "zêlos," which meant "zeal" or "eager devotion," and the earliest English senses of the adjective still carried that eagerness. Passing through Late Latin "zelosus" and then Old French "jalous," the word was first recorded in Middle English in 1382, and for a long time it could describe someone who was simply zealous in guarding or serving something, not only someone resentful. The shift toward suspicion and rivalry came from the idea of guarding. A person zealous for a beloved's loyalty, or for a possession, becomes watchful and anxious, and eventually fearful of losing what is theirs to a rival. The modern sense of envy grew out of that anxious vigilance, so that a word once praising devotion came to name the fear and resentment that devotion can produce.

Synonyms: envious, covetous, possessive

Antonyms: trustful, secure