50 Idioms for Jealousy and Envy (Meanings)

Idioms are special phrases where the words together mean something different from what they say one by one. People use them to make talking and writing more colorful and exciting when describing difficult feelings. In this lesson, you will learn fifty unique idioms related to jealousy and envy.

In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms that mean feeling envious, coveting what others have, or being resentful. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.

Idioms for Jealousy and Envy

1. Green with envy

Definition: To feel extremely jealous and bitter about someone else’s good fortune.

Used in a Sentence: Mark was green with envy when his classmate bought a brand new bicycle. / She felt green with envy seeing the shiny trophy her rival won.

Similar Expressions: Deeply envious / Bitterly jealous

2. Green-eyed monster

Definition: A figurative way to describe the powerful emotion of jealousy taking over.

Used in a Sentence: The green-eyed monster got the best of him when I received the lead role. / Try not to let the green-eyed monster ruin your happiness for others.

Similar Expressions: Jealousy feeling / Envy urge

3. Chip on your shoulder

Definition: To hold a bitter resentment because you feel someone else has it better.

Used in a Sentence: He always walks around with a chip on his shoulder about not making the team. / Leaving behind that chip on your shoulder will help you make more friends.

Similar Expressions: Bitter attitude / Resentful grievance

4. Covet your neighbor’s ox

Definition: Wanting to take or possess something that belongs strictly to someone else.

Used in a Sentence: Learning to be content means stopping the habit of coveting your neighbor’s ox. / He spent the whole afternoon coveting his friend’s new video game.

Similar Expressions: Wanting possessions / Jealous desire

5. Keeping up with the Joneses

Definition: Trying to buy everything your neighbors have out of pure envy.

Used in a Sentence: My parents refuse to spend money just on keeping up with the Joneses. / Buying a bigger car simply for keeping up with the Joneses is silly.

Similar Expressions: Material rivalry / Envious competing

6. Sour grapes

Definition: Pretending you do not want something valuable just because you cannot have it.

Used in a Sentence: Saying the prize was boring anyway sounded like pure sour grapes. / When he lost the election, he dismissed it as sour grapes.

Similar Expressions: Dismissive envy / Spiteful rejection

7. Bite your tongue with jealousy

Definition: Forcing yourself to stay quiet while feeling bitter about another’s success.

Used in a Sentence: She had to bite her tongue with jealousy when her sister won the art award. / He wanted to complain, but chose to bite his tongue with jealousy instead.

Similar Expressions: Hiding resentment / Silent envy

8. Eat your heart out

Definition: A phrase used to express jealous admiration or competitive envy.

Used in a Sentence: Look at my new skateboard and eat your heart out, laughed Leo. / He won the race and told his friends to eat their heart out.

Similar Expressions: Feel envious / Envious boast

9. Burning with jealousy

Definition: Experiencing an intense, fiery emotional pain because of envy.

Used in a Sentence: She was burning with jealousy when the spotlight turned to her coworker. / His face turned red as he sat burning with jealousy during the ceremony.

Similar Expressions: Fiery envy / Blazing resentment

10. Red-headed stepchild feeling

Definition: Feeling unwanted or jealous because someone else receives better treatment.

Used in a Sentence: He sometimes struggled with feelings of unfairness during group tasks. / Getting picked last made her feel pushed aside and resentful.

Similar Expressions: Left out / Unfairly treated

11. Red with anger and envy

Definition: Showing visible signs of fury and jealousy combined.

Used in a Sentence: He was red with anger and envy after seeing someone else get his dream job. / Her expression turned red with anger and envy upon hearing the news.

Similar Expressions: Furious and jealous / Envious rage

12. Envious eye

Definition: Looking at someone’s possessions or life with strong desire and jealousy.

Used in a Sentence: He cast an envious eye toward my delicious chocolate cake slice. / The neighbor looked with an envious eye at our new backyard pool.

Similar Expressions: Covetous gaze / Jealous look

13. Turning green

Definition: Showing physical signs of illness or intense jealousy in your expression.

Used in a Sentence: Sam looked like he was turning green when his friend showed off his new watch. / She felt herself turning green with envy over the prize.

Similar Expressions: Looking envious / Pale with spite

14. Poisoned by envy

Definition: Letting jealousy ruin your positive thoughts and friendly attitude.

Used in a Sentence: Do not let your mind become poisoned by envy when others succeed. / He acted mean because he was poisoned by envy for weeks.

Similar Expressions: Corrupted by jealousy / Bitterly ruined

15. Jaundiced eye

Definition: Looking at another person’s success with bitterness and prejudice.

Used in a Sentence: He viewed his brother’s academic achievements with a jaundiced eye. / Looking at the art contest winner with a jaundiced eye helps nobody.

Similar Expressions: Bittersweet view / Biased judgment

16. Dog in the manger

Definition: Being selfish and jealous by preventing others from enjoying what you cannot use.

Used in a Sentence: Refusing to let anyone else play with the toy you do not want is acting like a dog in the manger. / His jealous refusal to share made him look like a dog in the manger.

Similar Expressions: Selfish envy / Spiteful hoarding

17. Stabbing with jealousy

Definition: Feeling a sharp, painful emotional pang of envy inside your chest.

Used in a Sentence: A feeling of stabbing with jealousy hit her when he won the prize. / He felt a sharp sensation of stabbing with jealousy during the roll call.

Similar Expressions: Sharp envy / Painful sting

18. Consumed by jealousy

Definition: Letting envy completely take over your thoughts and daily life.

Used in a Sentence: He was consumed by jealousy and could not focus on his own homework. / She felt consumed by jealousy when looking at vacation photos.

Similar Expressions: Overwhelmed by envy / Totally obsessed

19. Rotten with jealousy

Definition: Having a deeply bitter and envious personality trait.

Used in a Sentence: The bully acted rotten with jealousy whenever someone else got praised. / Trying to be kind is hard when someone is rotten with jealousy.

Similar Expressions: Deeply bitter / Spiteful soul

20. Yellow-bellied envy

Definition: Cowardly jealousy that hides behind whispers and fake smiles.

Used in a Sentence: His yellow-bellied envy showed when he whispered rumors behind my back. / Avoid letting yellow-bellied envy ruin your friendships.

Similar Expressions: Cowardly spite / Sneaky jealousy

21. Covetous gaze

Definition: Staring longingly and jealously at something someone else owns.

Used in a Sentence: The stray puppy cast a covetous gaze at our dinner plates. / She kept a covetous gaze on my shiny new necklace.

Similar Expressions: Hungry look / Jealous stare

22. Envy eating you up

Definition: Feeling like jealousy is consuming your happiness from the inside.

Used in a Sentence: Let go of that grudge before you let envy eating you up. / He realized letting envy eating you up was a waste of time.

Similar Expressions: Consuming envy / Eating inside

23. Spiteful envy

Definition: Jealousy combined with a desire to cause harm or trouble.

Used in a Sentence: Her spiteful envy led her to hide my notebook in the locker. / Spiteful envy never brings true happiness to anyone.

Similar Expressions: Malicious jealousy / Vicious spite

24. Bitter pill to swallow

Definition: Accepting another person’s success when you wanted it yourself.

Used in a Sentence: Losing the election to my best friend was a bitter pill to swallow. / Watching him win the medal proved a bitter pill to swallow.

Similar Expressions: Hard acceptance / Difficult truth

25. Eating your heart out with envy

Definition: Suffering silently from intense, painful jealousy over an achievement.

Used in a Sentence: He sat quietly in the corner, eating his heart out with envy. / There is no reason to spend your evening eating your heart out with envy.

Similar Expressions: Suffering envy / Silent agony

26. Green malice

Definition: A harsh, envious feeling directed toward a successful peer.

Used in a Sentence: His comments were filled with green malice and bitter complaints. / We could sense the green malice in her voice during the speech.

Similar Expressions: Envious spite / Bitter malice

27. Smoldering resentment

Definition: Hidden, burning anger and jealousy that builds up over time.

Used in a Sentence: He held a smoldering resentment toward the team captain all season. / Smoldering resentment only hurts the person carrying it inside.

Similar Expressions: Hidden anger / Inner bitterness

28. Sick with jealousy

Definition: Experiencing physical discomfort or nausea due to intense envy.

Used in a Sentence: She felt sick with jealousy when her friend got the lead role. / Watching him open the big gift made me feel sick with jealousy.

Similar Expressions: Nauseous with envy / Physically jealous

29. Gnawing envy

Definition: A persistent, biting feeling of jealousy that refuses to go away.

Used in a Sentence: A gnawing envy bothered him whenever someone mentioned the award. / She tried to ignore the gnawing envy in the back of her mind.

Similar Expressions: Biting jealousy / Persistent envy

30. Dark envy

Definition: A sinister and deeply hidden form of jealousy.

Used in a Sentence: His dark envy prevented him from congratulating the winner. / She tried to hide the dark envy behind a polite smile.

Similar Expressions: Sinister jealousy / Hidden malice

31. Coveting the crown

Definition: Jealously wishing to take the top position from someone else.

Used in a Sentence: He spent months coveting the crown instead of practicing his skills. / Coveting the crown will not help you win the match honestly.

Similar Expressions: Wanting top spot / Jealous ambition

32. Eyeing with envy

Definition: Looking at someone’s accomplishments or items with clear jealousy.

Used in a Sentence: The children were eyeing with envy the pile of birthday candies. / He kept eyeing with envy the guitar I was playing.

Similar Expressions: Staring jealously / Watching with greed

33. Jealous streak

Definition: A temporary or recurring pattern of feeling envious of others.

Used in a Sentence: Every time a friend got a new toy, her jealous streak showed. / Try to control that jealous streak when playing board games.

Similar Expressions: Envious phase / Jealous habit

34. Harboring envy

Definition: Secretly keeping and nurturing jealous feelings inside your mind.

Used in a Sentence: Harboring envy toward your classmates only hurts your own progress. / He was caught harboring envy when he ruined the display.

Similar Expressions: Storing jealousy / Secret spite

35. Stained with envy

Definition: Having your character or actions tainted by feelings of jealousy.

Used in a Sentence: His review of my book felt stained with envy and unfair criticism. / Do not let your good reputation become stained with envy.

Similar Expressions: Tainted by spite / Envy marked

36. Poisoned well of envy

Definition: A mindset completely ruined by bitter and jealous thoughts.

Used in a Sentence: He drank from the poisoned well of envy and started insulting friends. / Cleaning out that poisoned well of envy takes time and reflection.

Similar Expressions: Corrupted mind / Toxic jealousy

37. Burning envy

Definition: A hot and aggressive wave of jealousy toward someone’s success.

Used in a Sentence: A wave of burning envy rushed through him during the trophy presentation. / She hid her burning envy behind a quiet nod.

Similar Expressions: Hot jealousy / Fierce envy

38. Biting envy

Definition: A sharp mental sting caused by seeing someone else win.

Used in a Sentence: The biting envy in his chest made it hard to clap for the winner. / She felt a biting envy when her sister got a new bicycle.

Similar Expressions: Sharp jealousy / Stinging envy

39. Envious shadow

Definition: A lingering sense of jealousy that follows someone’s success.

Used in a Sentence: His achievements lived under an envious shadow cast by rivals. / She stepped out from the envious shadow to build her own success.

Similar Expressions: Jealous cloud / Envious gloom

40. Jealous heart

Definition: An emotional state prone to feeling bitter about others’ joy.

Used in a Sentence: A jealous heart finds it difficult to celebrate a friend’s victory. / Work on keeping a kind spirit instead of a jealous heart.

Similar Expressions: Envious soul / Bitter spirit

41. Covetous heart

Definition: A deep inner desire to possess everything that belongs to others.

Used in a Sentence: He struggled with a covetous heart whenever visiting toy stores. / Learning gratitude helps cure a covetous heart.

Similar Expressions: Greedy spirit / Jealous longing

42. Malicious envy

Definition: Jealousy paired with an active wish for someone else to fail.

Used in a Sentence: The gossip she spread was driven by pure malicious envy. / Malicious envy destroys communities and school friendships.

Similar Expressions: Vicious jealousy / Harmful spite

43. Bitter envy

Definition: Unpleasant and sour feelings caused by a lack of what others have.

Used in a Sentence: Bitter envy kept him from joining the celebration party. / She tasted the bitter envy of losing the art competition.

Similar Expressions: Sour jealousy / Harsh envy

44. Resentful longing

Definition: Wanting what someone else has while feeling angry about it.

Used in a Sentence: He looked at his brother’s new room with resentful longing. / Resentful longing will never help you achieve your own goals.

Similar Expressions: Jealous yearning / Bitter desire

45. Envious glance

Definition: A quick, jealous look directed at someone else’s property or prize.

Used in a Sentence: She stole an envious glance at my slice of chocolate pie. / He shot an envious glance toward the winner’s ribbon.

Similar Expressions: Jealous look / Covetous peek

46. Envious whisper

Definition: Talking quietly to others out of jealousy about a person’s success.

Used in a Sentence: We heard an envious whisper from the back row during the awards. / Stop spreading envious whispers and focus on your work.

Similar Expressions: Jealous gossip / Spiteful talk

47. Green-eyed feeling

Definition: A mild or sudden sensation of jealousy regarding a peer.

Used in a Sentence: I felt a quick green-eyed feeling when she got the front seat. / That green-eyed feeling passed once I remembered my own blessings.

Similar Expressions: Jealous pang / Envious moment

48. Jealous glare

Definition: An angry, envious stare given to someone who succeeded.

Used in a Sentence: He shot a jealous glare across the room at the spelling champion. / She tried to hide her jealous glare behind her hands.

Similar Expressions: Envious stare / Angry look

49. Spiteful green

Definition: A descriptive phrase for the color associated with malicious envy.

Used in a Sentence: His expression turned a spiteful green when I won the game. / We recognized that spiteful green look in his eyes instantly.

Similar Expressions: Envious hue / Jealous shade

50. Jealous grip

Definition: The tight, controlling hold that envy has over someone’s mind.

Used in a Sentence: He finally broke free from the jealous grip of bitterness. / Letting go of the jealous grip on his ego made him happier.

Similar Expressions: Envious hold / Jealous control

Exercise to Practice

1. Mark was green with envy when his classmate bought a brand new bicycle.
2. The green-eyed monster got the best of him when I received the lead role.
3. He always walks around with a cheerful smile on his shoulder about not making the team.
4. My parents refuse to spend money just on keeping up with the Joneses.
5. Saying the prize was boring anyway sounded like pure sour grapes.
6. She had to bite her tongue with jealousy when her sister won the art award.
7. Look at my new skateboard and cry your eyes out, laughed Leo.
8. She was burning with jealousy when the spotlight turned to her coworker.
9. Sam looked like he was turning green when his friend showed off his new watch.
10. Do not let your mind become poisoned by envy when others succeed.
11. Refusing to let anyone else play with the toy you do not want is acting like a dog in the manger.
12. A feeling of stabbing with jealousy hit her when he won the prize.
13. He was consumed by joy and could not focus on his own homework.
14. Every time a friend got a new toy, her jealous streak showed.
15. A jealous heart finds it difficult to celebrate a friend’s victory.

Answer Key

1. True
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. True
6. True
7. False
8. True
9. True
10. True
11. True
12. True
13. False
14. True
15. True

Conclusion

Learning these idioms helps you describe jealousy and envy in creative and colorful ways. Expanding your everyday vocabulary makes your stories and conversations much more engaging for everyone around you.

Try using one or two of these expressions the next time you talk with your classmates or family members. You will see how much fun it is to express complex emotions using vivid English phrases.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common idioms for jealousy and envy?

Common idioms include phrases like green with envy, green-eyed monster, and sour grapes. These expressions give a clear picture of feeling envious and covetous.

Why do we use idioms in English?

Idioms make our language more vibrant, colorful, and fun to speak. Instead of plain descriptions, they let us share feelings and human experiences in creative ways.

How can I practice using idioms easily?

You can practice by picking one new idiom each day and using it in a sentence with a friend. Writing short stories or making up funny sentences also helps you remember them.

Are idioms difficult for beginners to learn?

Not at all, especially when you learn them through relatable topics like everyday emotions. Context and example sentences make it easy to understand what they mean right away.

Can I use these idioms in school writing?

Yes, using idioms can make your stories and essays much more creative and fun to read. Just make sure you use them correctly so your meaning is clear to your teacher.