Confusing words- Jealousy vs Envy

Elena

Hi all,

I often come across people who confuse these two words and use them incorrectly. Let's see what the actual difference is:

Jealousy and envy both involve a feeling of desire or what another person has, but jealousy is usually considered to be more negative- it often involves resentment towards the other person. Envy is also an unpleasant feeling- a mixture of admiration and discontent- but there's usually no hostility involved:
  • I envy people who don't get stressed out easily.
  • I don't envy your heavy workload (also used in negative form).
  • He was jealous of his colleague's promotion (rivalry).
  • A jealous husband or wife.
I hope it all makes sense!
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The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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