Havelock EllisScott Buchanan
Did you know?
Zealous vs. Jealous
Zealous and jealous share not just a rhyme, but an etymology. Both words ultimately come from the Latin zelus “jealousy,” and in the past their meanings were somewhat closer to each other than they are today. In the 16th and 17th centuries, zealous occasionally was used in biblical writing to refer to a quality of apprehensiveness or jealousy of another. By the 18th century, however, it had completely diverged in meaning from jealous, signifying “warmly engaged or ardent on behalf of someone or something.” Today, zealous often carries a connotation of excessive feeling: it typically means “fiercely partisan” or “uncompromisingly enthusiastic.”
Examples of jealous in a Sentence
Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 10 Apr. 2024
Standing in his way are British spies, French informers and jealous colleagues.
—Liza Foreman, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Behind Jean’s loving, gregarious behavior, though, is a jealous man who likes hunting (something Fanny should haven taken into consideration) and is rumored to be ruthless enough to have done away with a onetime colleague.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Ragnar’s brother, Rollo (Clive Standen) is at once a stalwart companion and somewhat jealous of the long shadow Ragnar casts.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
At one point, Thomas starts an affair with a girl, which makes Leo deeply jealous.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 25 Mar. 2024
In the video, Rodrigo sings about being jealous of and obsessed with her partner's ex-girlfriend, dressed in her usual punky all-black against the debutantes and pageant queens.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 22 Mar. 2024
Blackwell added that Presnell would feel jealous if the other men from the pods were hanging out without him.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 19 Mar. 2024
Putin’s current prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, reportedly has a good public reputation and a competent staff—conditions that could bode ill for him under a jealous president.
—Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jealous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near jealous
Cite this Entry
“Jealous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jealous. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share