Jealous vs. envious. Synonyms? Not quite.
Let’s say you see Skooch roll up to helveticka world headquarters in his sweet new Honda CBR300R motorcycle, and boy howdy do you ever wish you had one yourself. So…you’re envious.
Let’s further say that you’re Skooch’s girlfriend, and you’re not at all keen on the attention he’s been getting from the ladies on account of that same motorcycle. You’re jealous.
See, envy is all about what you don’t have; jealousy comes into play when you want to hold on to that which you already possess.
