Jealousy Quotes To Make You Less Jealous

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Do you get jealous easily? These jealousy quotes show how to outrun the “green-eyed monster” and find better feelings.

Jealousy is an odd and complex emotion associated with relationships of all kinds. Some people are more jealous than others, but we all struggle with it at some point.

In small doses, jealousy is perfectly normal, but in others it may make us suspicious, mistrusting, or irrational if we let it.

But as these jealousy quotes show, we don’t have to be jealous, and are better off when we choose not to be. So put jealousy aside and regain your confidence and trust in others today.

Top 10 Jealousy Quotes

Jealousy is when you count someone else’s blessings instead of your own.

Amanda Metcalf

It is not love that is blind, but jealousy.

Lawrence Durrell
Max Frisch quote "Jealousy is the fear of comparison"
“Jealousy is the fear of comparison.” – Max Frisch

Jealousy—tormenting yourself, for fear you should be tormented by another.

Paul Chatfield

A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything.

Robert A. Heinlein

What is jealousy but a reflection of your own failures?

Michael Connelly

Jealousy injures us with the dagger of self-doubt.

Terri Guillemets
Robert Heinlein quote "Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity"
“Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.” – Robert A. Heinlein

Jealousy – that jumble of secret worship and ostensible aversion.

Emil Cioran

Jealousy is, I think, the worst of all faults because it makes a victim of both parties.

Gene Tierney

Quotes about Jealousy

The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents.

Salvador Dali

Jealousy is never satisfied with anything short of an omniscience that would detect the subtlest fold of the heart.

George Eliot

In jealousy, there is more of self-love than love.

François de La Rochefoucauld

Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy – in fact, they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other.

Robert A. Heinlein

Jealousy is beautiful only on a young and ardent face. After the first wrinkles, trust must return.

Alfred Camus

Jealousy sees things always with magnifying glasses which make little things large, of dwarfs giants, of suspicions truths.

Miguel de Cervantes

There is a sort of jealousy which needs very little fire; it is hardly a passion, but a blight bred in the cloudy, damp despondency of uneasy egoism.

George Eliot

Surrounded by the flames of jealousy, the jealous one winds up, like the scorpion, turning the poisoned sting against himself.

Friedrich Nietzsche
Kovai Sarala quote "I believe in healthy competition not jealousy"
“I believe in healthy competition not jealousy.” – Kovai Sarala

Jealousy is the great exaggerator.

Johann Chrisoph Friedrich von Schiller

Jealousy, that dragon which slays love under the pretense of keeping it alive.

Havelock Ellis

Never underestimate the power of jealousy and the power of envy to destroy.

Oliver Stone

Noble hearts are neither jealous nor afraid because jealousy spells doubt and fear spells pettiness.

Honoré de Balzac

Jealousy’s a weak emotion.

Jay-Z

The surest route to breeding jealousy is to compare. Since jealousy comes from feeling less than another, comparisons only fan the fires.

Dorothy Corkille Briggs

O! Beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.

William Shakespeare, Othello

Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

I hate jealousy so much that if I ever do feel it, I try to shut it down immediately, but it’s so hard.

Peyton List

Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.

Job 5:2, ESV
Erica Jong quote "Jealousy is all the fun you think they had"
“Jealousy is all the fun you think they had.” – Erica Jong

There is no greater glory than love, nor any greater punishment than jealousy.

Lope de Vega

Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening.

Maya Angelou

Jealousy is unavoidable – it’s part of the price we pay for intimacy.

Rachel Simmons

Jealousy is a keen observer, but looks for all the wrong signs.

H.L. Mencken

Nothing is more capable of troubling our reason, and consuming our health, than secret notions of jealousy in solitude.

Aphra Behn

People can do all kinds of things that maybe aren’t wise in hindsight because of jealousy.

Kristin Bauer van Straten

I don’t believe in comparing myself with anyone else, as that leads to hatred and jealousy.

Shehnaaz Gill

Jealousy is such a waste of time because you’re jealous of them, and they go about their lives and have a wonderful time, so what’s the point?

Joy Behar

Jealousy isn’t a pleasant quality, but if it isn’t overdone (and if it’s combined with modesty), apart from its inconvenience there’s even something touching about it.

Milan Kundera

Jealousy is just love and hate at the same time.

Drake
Fulton Sheen quote "Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius"
“Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.” – Fulton J. Sheen

The poor man is ruined as soon as he begins to ape the rich.

Publilius Syrus

Passion can quickly slip to jealousy, or even hatred.

Arthur Golden

I thought that jealousy was an idea. It isn’t. It’s a pain.

Floyd Dell

Jealousy is the fear or apprehension of superiority: envy our uneasiness under it.

William Shenstone

Jealousy is a scary thing.

Laura Dern

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.

Ann Brashares

Jealousy is the very reverse of understanding, of sympathy, and of generous feeling. Never has jealousy added to character, never does it make the individual big and fine.

Emma Goldman

I don’t want anything negative in my life, like hate, comparison, competition, and jealousy. I think these things are very heavy and take away from you the way of enjoying life.

Vivek Oberoi

Anger and jealousy can no more bear to lose sight of their objects than love.

George Eliot

Jealousy is the dragon in paradise; the hell of heaven; and the most bitter of the emotions because associated with the sweetest.

Alfred R. Orage
Patrick Henry quote "Jealousy is the only vice that gives no pleasure"
“Jealousy is the only vice that gives no pleasure.” – Patrick Henry

Jealousy can open the blood, it can make black roses.

Sylvia Plath

A little jealousy can be a good thing, for we may be reminded to appreciate what we have.

Shane Parrish

A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.

Seneca

Jealousy, an eminently credulous and suspicious passion, allows fancy the greatest possible play. But it does not bestow wit, it banishes all sense.

Honoré de Balzac

Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.

Epictetus

Jealousy – that jumble of secret worship and ostensible aversion.

Emil Cioran

Jealousy would be far less torturous if we understood that love is a passion entirely unrelated to our merits.

Paul Eldridge

Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but it tells the truth.

Susan Cain

Transform jealousy to admiration, and what you admire will become part of your life.

Yoko Ono

Anger, hatred and jealousy never solve problems, only affection, concern and respect can do that.

Dalai Lama
John Dryden quote "Jealousy is the jaundice of the soul"
“Jealousy is the jaundice of the soul.” – John Dryden

Jealousy is a miserable feeling. It means you aspire to something that you cannot have.

Sophia Loren

Jealousy is the most dreadfully involuntary of all sins.

Iris Murdoch

Jealousy is an inner consciousness of one’s own inferiority. It is a mental cancer.

B.C. Forbes

Being Jealous Quotes

Anger, resentment, and jealousy don’t change the heart of others – it only changes yours.

Shannon Alder

Envy is for people who don’t have the self-esteem to be jealous.

Bauvard

Trifles light as air; Are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ.

William Shakespeare

But jealous souls will not be answered so. They are not ever jealous for the cause, but jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster begot upon itself, born on itself.

William Shakespeare

I refused to believe that love could take any other form than mine: I measured love by the extent of my jealousy, and by that standard of course she could not love me at all.

Graham Greene

You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.

Margaret Atwood

When we look inward, not outward, we can dismantle the parts of our personalities that have controlled us for so long – such as anger, jealousy, vindictiveness, superiority, inferiority.

Gary Zukav
"Nothing brings on jealousy like laughter"
“Nothing brings on jealousy like laughter.” – Françoise Sagan

Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value. Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point – that others will be preferred and rewarded more than you.

Jennifer James

He that is jealous is not in love.

Saint Augustine

It would be impossible to estimate how much time and energy we invest in trying to fix, change and deny our emotions – especially the ones that shake us at our very core, like hurt, jealousy, loneliness, shame, rage, and grief.

Debbie Ford

Sure, I can get a little bit jealous. The good part about jealousy is that it comes from passion. It’s also the dangerous part and it’s an ugly emotion that hurts.

Matthew McConaughey

Magnanimous people have no vanity, they have no jealousy, and they feed on the true and the solid wherever they find it. And, what is more, they find it everywhere.

Van Wyck Brooks

Yet he was jealous, though he did not show it, For jealousy dislikes the world to know it.

Lord Byron

To live without comparison is to remove a tremendous burden.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Jealousy is information. It tells you what you desire, what you admire, what you despise in yourself.

Marcus Aurelius

You are jealous because you are unaware that everything you need is inside you.

Peter Deunov

Jealousy is always born with love, but does not die with it.

François de La Rochefoucauld
"You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars"
“You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars.” – Gary Allan

Maybe jealousy and envy would fade if we knew the full story behind success. Maybe we would be less likely to put people on a pedestal.

James Clear

It’s such a poisonous emotion because, at the end of the day, you’re no better off, you’re unhappier, and the person you’re jealous of is still successful or good-looking or whatever they are.

Naval Ravikant

Jealousy is the fear or apprehension of superiority: envy our uneasiness under it.

William Shenstone

Jealousy is not a barometer by which the depth of love can be read, it merely records the degree of the lover’s insecurity.

Margaret Mead

Jealous People Quotes

People hate those who make them feel their own inferiority.

Lord Chesterfield

The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them.

Criss Jami

The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.

Bette Midler

Insecure people only eclipse your sun because they’re jealous of your daylight and tired of their dark, starless nights.

Shannon L. Alder

Humans are suspicious and jealous creatures. When they see something perfect, they want to find a flaw.

Gosho Aoyama

Never hate jealous people. They are jealous because they think you are better than them.

Paulo Coelho

I am convinced that the jealous, the angry, the bitter, and the egotistical are the first to race to the top of mountains. A confident person enjoys the journey, the people they meet along the way and sees life not as a competition.

Shannon Alder

Men are jealous of every woman.

Jan Neruda
Adam DeVine quote "Jealousy is the worst trait in any person"
“Jealousy is the worst trait in any person.” – Adam DeVine

The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.

William Penn

I think it’s important to get your surroundings as well as yourself into a positive state – meaning surround yourself with positive people, not the kind who are negative and jealous of everything you do.

Heidi Klum

When you do well, everybody’s after you, and sometimes the motive are legitimate, and sometimes it’s envy and jealousy.

Robert Kraft

Fear often manifests in cynicism, anger, jealousy, and anxiety. I worry that many of our communities are being driven by fear.

Vivek Murthy

He was jealous of her future, and she of his past.

Anaïs Nin

Even if people pretend that they’re OK with it, jealousy can eat people alive.

Phoebe Fox

It’s true that people who feel inadequate, insecure, or overly dependent tend to be more jealous than others.

Helen Fisher

The jealous are possessed by a mad devil and a dull spirit at the same time.

Johann Kaspar Lavater

I am used to jealousy and people putting me in a box and labeling me without really knowing me.

Sonja Morgan

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

Mother Teresa

Everyone experiences bouts of jealousy; but the dignified person conceals it, while the vulgar one acts upon it.

Ibn Taymiyyah

More men die of jealousy than of cancer.

Joseph P. Kennedy
"Nobody is ever jealous about the process only the results"
“Nobody is ever jealous about the process, only the results.” – Regan Jacklin

Jealousy is one of the wickedest of all the passions. But reprehensible though it is, jealousy is almost rather to be pitied than blamed – its first victims are those who harbor the feeling.

Arthur Lynch

The jealous bring down the curse they fear upon their own heads.

Dorothy Dix

Jealous Friends Quotes

There’s always this one girl. She’s desperate and she’s weird and she’s jealous, and you’re stuck with her, no matter how hard you try to get her off your back.

Courtney Summers

I’m jealous of every minute you spend with him, of every concerned emotion you send his way, of every tear shed, of every glance, every touch, and every thought.

Colleen Houck

No one can have all he wants, but a man can refrain from wanting what he has not, and cheerfully make the best of a bird in the hand.

Seneca

Gossip is just a tool to distract people who have nothing better to do from feeling jealous of those few of us still remaining with noble hearts.

Anna Godbersen

Love shouldn’t be about jealousy or anything like that. It should be about commitment and being able to trust that person. If you can’t have that from the get-go, there’s a problem.

Aaron Carter

Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.

Gore Vidal

You can’t be friends with someone who wants your life.

Oprah Winfrey

Jealousy or a zero-sum view of success, someone else getting all the attention.

Jerry Neumann

Do you want to be that person with all of their reactions, their desires, their family, their happiness level, their outlook on life, and their self image? If you’re not willing to do a whole sale, 24/7, 100% swap with who that person is, then there’s no point in being jealous.

Naval Ravikant

I don’t ever remember being particularly jealous of anybody, because I figured if I can’t do it myself, I don’t deserve to get it.

Clyde Tombaugh
Toba Beta quote "You can’t be yourself within jealousy"
“You can’t be yourself within jealousy.” – Toba Beta

You have to be great friends and make each other laugh. We laugh a lot and neither is jealous of the other.

Ruby Wax

Most people want to see you do better, but not doing better than them.

London Mond

Someone who smiles too much with you can sometimes frown too much with you at your back.

Michael Bassey Johnson

A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.

Arnold H. Glasow

No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.

Alice Walker

Funny Jealousy Quotes

Jealousy is a disease. Get well soon.

Paris Hilton

Welcome to the wonderful world of jealousy,’ he thought. ‘For the price of admission, you get a splitting headache, a nearly irresistible urge to commit murder, and an inferiority complex. Yippee.’

J.R. Ward

Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.

H.G. Wells

Plain women are always jealous of their husbands. Beautiful women never are. They are always so occupied with being jealous of other women’s husbands.

Oscar Wilde

Jealousy is the grave of affection.

Mary Baker Eddy

Jealousy is a dog’s bark which attracts thieves.

Karl Kraus

Jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies.

Elizabeth Bowen
Ruth Rendell quote "The knives of jealousy are honed on details"
“The knives of jealousy are honed on details.” – Ruth Rendell

Jealousy is the tie that binds, and binds, and binds.

Helen Rowland

Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

My wife’s jealousy is getting ridiculous. The other day she looked at my calendar and wanted to know who May was.

Rodney Dangerfield

Facebook just sounds like a drag, in my day seeing pictures of peoples vacations was considered a punishment.

Betty White

The lovesick, the betrayed, and the jealous all smell alike.

Colette

Envy and jealousy are the private parts of the human soul. Perhaps the comparison can be extended.

Friedrich Nietzsche

My jealousy is a living thing. Shifting, changing, growing. Like my rage and my mother’s regret.

Katja Millay

Still feeling jealous? Hopefully some of these jealousy quotes showed you the benefit to releasing jealous thoughts and embracing more trusting ones.

Being jealous may seem like a part of loving a partner, but so is believing in them and having confidence that they feel the same way. Happy couples learn how to move past jealous suspicions and trust each other even when apart for long periods of time.

Many of these quotes about jealousy highlight the insecurity it brings. In overcoming jealous feelings, we grow more secure in ourselves and those around us.

So make the choice to stop being fearful and enrich your relationships with trust and acceptance today.

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Quincy Seale

Quincy is KIM's lead editor and content writer, and has invested in online properties since 2009. Quincy holds an MBA from the University of Dundee and an MSc from the University of Edinburgh, and lives in San Antonio with his wife Natalie, son Alex, and his dog Oban.