Idioms are fun phrases that mean something different from the actual words inside them. People use them to make conversation more colorful, interesting, and full of feeling. Today, you will learn a large group of helpful idioms related to jealousy, wanting what others have, and feelings of envy.
In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms for envy that mean feeling jealous and wishing for another person’s success. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Envy
1. A green-eyed monster
Meaning: A way to describe the feeling of jealousy when you want what someone else has.
For Example: When his friend got a new bicycle, the green-eyed monster made him feel a bit jealous. / Try not to let the green-eyed monster take over when others succeed.
Other Ways to Say: Jealousy / Envy
2. All eyes on someone
Meaning: Being jealous because everyone is looking at another person’s success.
For Example: With all eyes on her new art trophy, he felt a twinge of envy. / He wished for all eyes on him instead of his winning teammate.
Other Ways to Say: Being watched / Center of attention
3. As green as grass
Meaning: Being inexperienced, but sometimes used to describe someone green with envy.
For Example: He was as green as grass when it came to playing chess, but still jealous of the winner. / She felt as green as grass looking at their fancy gear.
Other Ways to Say: Inexperienced / Envious
4. Bark up the wrong tree
Meaning: Blaming or envying the wrong person for a success.
For Example: If you are jealous of him, you are barking up the wrong tree because he worked hard. / She thought he took her idea, but she was barking up the wrong tree.
Other Ways to Say: Mistaken / Looking in the wrong place
5. Be dying of envy
Meaning: Desperately wanting someone else’s cool toy or great achievement.
For Example: When I saw his new video game console, I was dying of envy. / She was dying of envy over her sister’s shiny new shoes.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely jealous / Wanting it badly
6. Beat your chest
Meaning: Showing off your own things because you are jealous of others.
For Example: There is no need to beat your chest just because your friend won a prize. / He started to beat his chest out of envy.
Other Ways to Say: Show off / Brag
7. Bitter pill
Meaning: A hard truth to swallow when you realize someone else is better at something.
For Example: Losing the spelling bee to his classmate was a bitter pill to swallow. / Watching her win the race was a bitter pill of envy.
Other Ways to Say: Hard truth / Difficult loss
8. Bleed green
Meaning: A slang way to describe someone who is deeply jealous or envious.
For Example: He looked like he could bleed green when she won the award. / Seeing their success made him bleed green with envy.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely envious / Very jealous
9. Burning inside
Meaning: Feeling a hot, uncomfortable wave of anger and envy inside your chest.
For Example: He felt like he was burning inside when his brother got the bigger slice of cake. / Seeing her win made him feel burning inside.
Other Ways to Say: Seething / Feeling jealous
10. Cast a covetous eye
Meaning: Looking at someone else’s belongings with strong desire and envy.
For Example: He would cast a covetous eye at my new skateboard every recess. / She cast a covetous eye toward her friend’s colorful markers.
Other Ways to Say: Look with envy / Desire jealously
11. Chip on your shoulder
Meaning: Being grumpy and resentful because you feel someone else has it better.
For Example: He walked around with a chip on his shoulder because he did not win the art contest. / Try to drop that chip on your shoulder and be happy for others.
Other Ways to Say: Resentful / Grumpy
12. Covet what is not yours
Meaning: Wanting to take or have items that belong to another person.
For Example: Learning to be content means you should not covet what is not yours. / He felt tempted to covet what is not yours when seeing the new toys.
Other Ways to Say: Desire others’ things / Envy possessions
13. Cut your own throat
Meaning: Hurting your own chances out of bitter jealousy toward someone else.
For Example: Being mean to the winner is like cutting your own throat because it ruins friendships. / He was cutting his own throat by acting envious.
Other Ways to Say: Self-sabotage / Hurt yourself
14. Eat your heart out
Meaning: Feeling intensely jealous or wishing you had what someone else has.
For Example: Look at my new trophy, eat your heart out! / He won the race and told his envious friends to eat their hearts out.
Other Ways to Say: Be jealous / Feel envious
15. Envious glance
Meaning: A quick, jealous look at someone else’s cool belongings.
For Example: She cast an envious glance at my new sparkly notebook. / He threw an envious glance toward the pizza box.
Other Ways to Say: Jealous look / Covetous stare
16. Eye of newt
Meaning: A spooky phrase, but sometimes used playfully about jealous witches in stories.
For Example: The story character looked at her rival with the eye of newt out of envy. / He joked about casting an envious spell with the eye of newt.
Other Ways to Say: Jealous stare / Spooky look
17. Feel left out
Meaning: Experiencing sadness and envy when others are chosen and you are not.
For Example: Not getting picked for the team made him feel left out and envious. / She felt left out when her friends went to the movies without her.
Other Ways to Say: Excluded / Isolated
18. Feel small
Meaning: Experiencing insecurity and envy when comparing yourself to others.
For Example: Seeing his rich classmate’s fancy shoes made him feel small. / Comparing scores made her feel small with envy.
Other Ways to Say: Insecure / Inferior
19. Fierce rivalry
Meaning: A strong competition driven by mutual envy and desire to win.
For Example: The spelling bee turned into a fierce rivalry between the two top students. / Their friendship was tested by a fierce rivalry over grades.
Other Ways to Say: Intense competition / Bitter contest
20. Fish in troubled waters
Meaning: Trying to take advantage of someone else’s trouble out of envy or greed.
For Example: He tried to fish in troubled waters when his classmate lost a project. / Do not try to fish in troubled waters when others fail.
Other Ways to Say: Take advantage / Exploit
21. Fly into a rage
Meaning: Suddenly becoming furious out of envy when someone else wins.
For Example: He was so jealous he almost wanted to fly into a rage. / Seeing her succeed made him want to fly into a rage.
Other Ways to Say: Get furious / Lose temper
22. Green with envy
Meaning: Showing or feeling an intense, obvious amount of jealousy.
For Example: When I bought a new scooter, my neighbor was green with envy. / She turned green with envy looking at her friend’s costume.
Other Ways toSay: Extremely jealous / Envious
23. Green-eyed monster
Meaning: Another classic way to describe the sudden feeling of jealousy.
For Example: The green-eyed monster bit him when his brother got a new bike. / Do not let the green-eyed monster ruin your friendships.
Other Ways toSay: Jealousy / Envy
24. Grudge match
Meaning: A competition fueled by past envy, anger, and desire for revenge.
For Example: Saturday’s soccer game felt like a grudge match between the two rivals. / They played the board game like a serious grudge match.
Other Ways to Say: Revenge game / Bitter contest
25. Hang your head in shame
Meaning: Feeling regret for acting out of bitter jealousy.
For Example: He had to hang his head in shame after being mean to the winner. / She hung her head in shame when caught being envious.
Other Ways to Say: Feel regret / Be ashamed
26. Have a chip on your shoulder
Meaning: Carrying around a bad attitude caused by envy and unfair feelings.
For Example: He has a chip on his shoulder because his friend won the art award. / Drop that chip on your shoulder and be kind.
Other Ways toSay: Resentful / Bitter
27. Heart burning
Meaning: Feeling an ache of painful envy in your chest.
For Example: Watching her receive the prize left him with a heart burning of jealousy. / He felt a heart burning sensation when she got picked first.
Other Ways to Say: Painful envy / Heartache
28. Hot under the collar
Meaning: Becoming angry and flustered out of sudden envy.
For Example: He got hot under the collar when someone praised his rival. / Seeing her success made him hot under the collar.
Other Ways to Say: Angry / Flustered
29. I wish I had that
Meaning: Voicing your direct envy of someone else’s cool item.
For Example: When he saw my new sneakers, he whispered I wish I had that. / She looked at the giant ice cream sundae and thought I wish I had that.
Other Ways to Say: Wanting it / Feeling envious
30. In someone else’s shoes
Meaning: Wishing you were living someone else’s life out of envy.
For Example: He wanted to be in someone else’s shoes because he thought they had it easier. / Do not spend time wanting to be in someone else’s shoes.
Other Ways toSay: Wanting another’s life / Envious wish
31. Keep up with the Joneses
Meaning: Feeling pressured to buy things out of envy for what neighbors have.
For Example: Buying a new car just to match the neighbors is trying to keep up with the Joneses. / Do not worry about trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Other Ways to Say: Copy neighbors / Compete with peers
32. Look through green glasses
Meaning: Viewing the world and other people’s success through jealousy.
For Example: He always looks through green glasses when his friends win prizes. / Stop looking through green glasses and celebrate their win.
Other Ways to Say: Be biased by envy / See jealously
33. Lust after
Meaning: Having an intense, greedy desire for someone else’s possessions.
For Example: He began to lust after his friend’s new bicycle. / Do not lust after things that do not belong to you.
Other Ways toSay: Crave jealously / Desire strongly
34. Make your blood boil
Meaning: Feeling a surge of angry envy when someone else gets praised.
For Example: Hearing them praise his rival made his blood boil. / Seeing the unfair grade made her blood boil with envy.
Other Ways toSay: Enrage / Make furious
35. Mustard keen
Meaning: Eager, but sometimes turned into bitter envy when others beat you.
For Example: He was mustard keen to win, which made his envy worse when he lost. / Her competitive spirit turned into envy.
Other Ways to Say: Too eager / Overly competitive
36. Narrow-eyed stare
Meaning: Looking at a successful person with suspicion and envy.
For Example: He gave the winner a narrow-eyed stare across the room. / She offered a narrow-eyed stare out of pure jealousy.
Other Ways to Say: Jealous look / Suspicious glare
37. Nibble away at you
Meaning: How secret feelings of envy slowly cause you emotional stress.
For Example: Jealousy can nibble away at you if you do not share your feelings. / Letting envy nibble away at you ruins your happiness.
Other Ways to Say: Erode happiness / Cause stress
38. Out of spite
Meaning: Doing something mean because of bitter envy or anger.
For Example: He hid her pencil box out of spite and envy. / She refused to clap out of spite.
Other Ways to Say: Maliciously / Out of jealousy
39. Painted green
Meaning: A funny way to describe someone showing obvious envy.
For Example: He looked like he was painted green when she won the game. / Seeing their prize made him feel painted green.
Other Ways to Say: Visibly envious / Jealous
40. Pining for
Meaning: Sad longing and envying something that someone else owns.
For Example: He spent all afternoon pining for his friend’s video game. / Stop pining for things you cannot have.
Other Ways to Say: Longing / Yearning jealously
41. Poison your mind
Meaning: Allowing envy and jealousy to ruin your positive thoughts.
For Example: Do not let bitterness and envy poison your mind. / He let jealousy poison his mind against his best friend.
Other Ways to Say: Corrupt thoughts / Ruin attitude
42. Punch the air with envy
Meaning: A sarcastic way to describe faking happiness while feeling jealous.
For Example: He tried to smile and punch the air with envy when she won. / She faked a cheer while feeling green inside.
Other Ways to Say: Fake happiness / Jealous cheer
43. PURE green
Meaning: Having feelings of absolute, undeniable envy.
For Example: When she got the leading role, he was pure green with jealousy. / His expression was pure green when he saw the prize.
Other Ways to Say: Utterly envious / Completely jealous
44. Put on a sour face
Meaning: Looking unhappy and jealous when someone else succeeds.
For Example: He put on a sour face when his sister received a gift. / Do not put on a sour face when others win prizes.
Other Ways to Say: Pout / Look unhappy
45. Red with rage
Meaning: Turning angry and envious when things do not go your way.
For Example: He was red with rage when his rival got first place. / Seeing her win made him red with rage.
Other Ways to Say: Furious / Angry
46. Salt in the wound
Meaning: Making a jealous person feel even worse by bragging about success.
For Example: Bragging about his new toy added salt in the wound for his envious friend. / Do not rub salt in the wound when someone loses.
Other Ways to Say: Make it worse / Add pain
47. Secret envy
Meaning: Hiding your jealousy so nobody else knows you want their success.
For Example: He hid his secret envy behind a polite smile. / She felt a pang of secret envy when her friend bought a new dress.
Other Ways to Say: Hidden jealousy / Private envy
48. See red
Meaning: A sudden flash of angry envy when a rival succeeds.
For Example: He began to see red when the trophy was handed to his opponent. / Winning made his rival see red.
Other Ways to Say: Get furious / Lose temper
49. Shoot daggers
Meaning: Giving someone a fierce, envious, and angry look.
For Example: She sat across the table shooting daggers at the winner. / He was shooting daggers with his eyes out of pure jealousy.
Other Ways to Say: Glare angrily / Look jealously
50. Sick with envy
Meaning: Feeling physically uncomfortable and deeply jealous of someone.
For Example: When I saw his brand new bicycle, I was sick with envy. / She felt sick with envy watching them open gifts.
Other Ways to Say: Deeply jealous / Mortified by envy
51. Sour grapes
Meaning: Pretending you do not want something just because you are jealous you cannot have it.
For Example: He said the prize looked boring, but that was just sour grapes because he lost. / Do not act like it is sour grapes just because you did not win.
Other Ways to Say: Fake dislike / Jealous dismissal
52. Steal someone’s thunder
Meaning: Enviously taking attention away from someone else’s success.
For Example: He announced his own news early just to steal her thunder. / Do not try to steal his thunder on his birthday.
Other Ways to Say: Take credit / Overshadow
53. Swallowed by jealousy
Meaning: Being completely overcome by feelings of envy.
For Example: He felt swallowed by jealousy when his friend got picked for the team. / Envy can leave you swallowed by negative thoughts.
Other Ways to Say: Overcome by envy / Consumed by jealousy
54. Take the wind out of your sails
Meaning: Feeling deflated and envious when someone surpasses you.
For Example: Seeing her superior score took the wind out of his sails. / His success took the wind out of my sails for a moment.
Other Ways to Say: Discourage / Deflate
55. Turn green
Meaning: Showing clear physical signs of intense envy on your face.
For Example: His face seemed to turn green when she opened the winning envelope. / Do not turn green just because someone else got a turn.
Other Ways to Say: Look envious / Blush green
56. Twist the knife
Meaning: Making someone’s feelings of envy and loss even more painful.
For Example: Bragging about the prize was like trying to twist the knife. / He did not mean to twist the knife by showing off his toy.
Other Ways to Say: Make it hurt / Worsen pain
57. Want the moon on a stick
Meaning: Greedily envying and demanding things you can never have.
For Example: Expecting to win every single prize is like wanting the moon on a stick. / He always wants the moon on a stick when others get gifts.
Other Ways to Say: Demand too much / Covet impossibilities
58. Wish you were in their shoes
Meaning: Envying another person’s life and wanting to trade places.
For Example: Looking at his vacation photos made me wish I were in their shoes. / Do not spend time wishing you were in their shoes.
Other Ways to Say: Envy their life / Want to trade places
59. Wither with envy
Meaning: A dramatic way to describe feeling intensely jealous.
For Example: She almost seemed to wither with envy when he showed his trophy. / He watched the winner and felt like he could wither with envy.
Other Ways to Say: Faint with jealousy / Feel extreme envy
60. Writhing with jealousy
Meaning: Feeling uncomfortable and tormented by bitter envy inside.
For Example: He sat in the corner writhing with jealousy over the award. / Envy left her writhing with negative thoughts.
Other Ways to Say: Tormented by envy / Suffering jealousy
Exercise to Practice
- When his friend got a new bicycle, the green-eyed ________ made him feel jealous.
- When I saw his new video game console, I was dying of ________.
- Losing the spelling bee to his classmate was a bitter ________ to swallow.
- When I bought a new scooter, my neighbor was ________ with envy.
- He said the prize looked boring, but that was just sour ________ because he lost.
- She sat across the table shooting ________ at the winner out of jealousy.
- When I saw his brand new bicycle, I was sick with ________.
- Bragging about his new toy added ________ in the wound for his envious friend.
- Do not let bitterness and envy ________ your mind against your best friend.
- He spent all afternoon ________ for his friend’s cool video game.
- Buying a new car just to match the neighbors is trying to keep ________ with the Joneses.
- Seeing his rich classmate’s fancy shoes made him feel ________.
- Not getting picked for the soccer team made him feel left ________ and envious.
- He would cast a covetous ________ at my new skateboard every single recess.
- Do not let the green-eyed ________ take over when others succeed around you.
Answer Key
- monster
- envy
- pill
- green
- grapes
- daggers
- envy
- salt
- poison
- pining
- up
- small
- out
- eye
- monster
Conclusion
Learning these idioms helps you recognize and talk about feelings of envy and jealousy in healthy ways. When you know how to use these phrases, expressing difficult emotions becomes much easier and clearer.
Try using one or two of these expressions the next time you discuss characters in a story or talk about fair play. You will see how much depth English idioms bring to your daily conversations!
