• iglou@programming.dev
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    3 days ago

    Jealousy and envy are not the same thing, although the nuance is subtle. What you’re talking about is closer to envy. You can be envious of something or someone without the hostility that turns it into jealousy.

      • iglou@programming.dev
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        2 days ago

        It’s not my definition. That is the subtle difference between the two words. But, most people use both words for the same thing, and most people only use the word jealousy for both things.

        Merriam Webster has an interesting paragraph on the page for jealousy about it: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jealousy

        You can also check the definitions of jealous and envious yourself, you’ll see that one is defined through hostility of some sort.

        The nuance is usually clear through context no matter which word you use, though. But I think that when you use it in a generic manner like you did, using the right word is best.

      • podian@piefed.social
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        2 days ago

        What my friend was conveying is that envy is the want for something–usually that another has–and jealousy is the fear of losing something that one already has.

        The interchangeable usage, e.g. by teenagers, based on a vague understanding is just that (for adults it crystalizes into something normative though they’re probably unaware of it, ego defense mechanisms lol).