Jealousy and envy are great word choices to add color to your writing because they can capture how your characters feel. Someone has rightly said, “Jealousy and envy make you ugly.” Jealousy is a fear of losing something, envy is something, in which you want something possessed by someone else. Envy means discontented longing for someone else’s advantages. Jealousy means unpleasant suspicion or apprehension of rivalship. Jealousy can be felt over something that belongs to you. On the other hand, envy is felt over what you don’t have but covet.
Jealousy is a negative emotion, which only harms in some way or the other parties involved. Jealousy is a fear of losing something, envy is something, in which you want something possessed by someone else. Envy can also affect positively as it encourages one to improve or achieve something better.
In general, jealousy involves three-person but envy is a two-person situation. Jealousy is described as the feeling in which a person gets overprotective with respect to the rights, position, and possession. This typically happens in a significant relationship and requires three people (you, the significant person, and another). On the contrary, envy arises when one feels discontented due to the desire evoked by someone else’s quality, possession, achievements, etc. You could be envious of anything from a personality trait to a possession. Jealousy is best suited for human relationships whereas envy is appropriate for material objects, possessions, or status.
Difference between Jealousy and Envy
JEALOUSY
- Jealousy is a feeling, wherein a person is under threat that someone is trying to take away, that is possessed by him.
- Jealousy is a negative emotion, which only harms in some way or the other parties involved.
- By the term, ‘jealousy’ we mean an unpleasant feeling, aroused when you fear someone is trying to take, which happens to be yours.
- To put it simply, jealousy occurs when there is insecurity or anxiety over an expected loss of status, position, or something of personal value to another person that belongs to you. Further, it is a complex emotion that gives rise to many other feelings such as anger, helplessness, humiliation, etc.
- Jealousy can be found in both men and women when their relationship is under a threat by a third person. In fact, siblings too, suffer from this problem, as they seek the attention of their parents.
ENVY
- Envy is a feeling of discontent, in which a person covets someone else’s possessions, quality, or benefits.
- Envy can also affect positively as it encourages one to improve or achieve something better.
- We define ‘envy’ as a feeling of covetousness and begrudging, aroused when a person lacks someone else’s exceptional quality, possession or success, advantages, etc. Many believe that envy occurs due to the objectivity of deficiency, but it is actually caused by a subjective inability to possess.
- Envy is an emotion, experienced by people who are dissatisfied with their self-image or who have low self-esteem, as they feel inferior to the person they envy. It is among the seven deadly sins and one of the principal causes of discontent and resentment in people.
- A person driven by envy, can’t let another person enjoy something, he/she is unable to enjoy it. However, the effects of envy can also be positive, as it encourages you to achieve what you covet.
