jealousadjective
uk/ˈdʒel.əs/us/ˈdʒel.əs/jealous adjective (UNHAPPY)
B1 upset and angry because someone that you love seems interested in another person:
a jealous husband/wife
Anna says she feels jealous every time another woman looks at her boyfriend.
B2 unhappy and angry because someone has something that you want:
He had always been very jealous of his brother's good looks.
Compare
envious
More examples
- Why are you jealous of her? She's no competition!
- In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts.
- She gets insanely jealous if he so much as looks at another woman.
- Her plans to make him jealous backfired on her when he went off with her best friend.
- He gets really jealous if his girlfriend strikes up a friendship with another man.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Envy and jealousy
- all right
- be green with envy idiom
- covet
- covetable
- covetous
- enviable
- envious
- envy
- green
- grudge
- jealousy
- possessive
jealous adjective (CAREFUL)
extremely careful in protecting someone or something:
She is very jealous of her independence, and doesn't want to get married.
Her parents used to keep a jealous watch over her when she was young.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Cautious and vigilant
- askance
- attentive
- belt and braces idiom
- better safe than sorry idiom
- better the devil you know (than the devil you don't) idiom
- discreet
- due diligence
- gingerly
- guarded
- intent
- narrowly
- once
- once bitten, twice shy idiom
- precise
- prudent
- sedulous
- slowly
- vigilance
- vigilant
- wary
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jealously
adverb uk/ˈdʒel.əs.li/us/ˈdʒel.əs.li/
B2
The exact location of the hotel where the royal couple is staying is a jealously (= carefully) guarded secret.
She eyed Gwen's engagement ring jealously.