In a word "jealous anger"
December 14, 2009 10:49 PM Subscribe
Looking for a word that expresses "jealous anger"
My daughter asked me "What's a word for jealous and acting angry about it for everything else in life? Like bitter or something." I couldn't come up with anything beyond concupiscible which doesn't quite do it for me. What comes to my mind is a word that describes how Dick Cheney looks most of the time. Any help would be appreciated.
My daughter asked me "What's a word for jealous and acting angry about it for everything else in life? Like bitter or something." I couldn't come up with anything beyond concupiscible which doesn't quite do it for me. What comes to my mind is a word that describes how Dick Cheney looks most of the time. Any help would be appreciated.
Contempt or superciliousness?
I'm picturing the Dick Cheney sneer, but can't figure out how to add jealousy.
posted by smallvictories at 10:59 PM on December 14, 2009
I'm picturing the Dick Cheney sneer, but can't figure out how to add jealousy.
posted by smallvictories at 10:59 PM on December 14, 2009
Resentful.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:59 PM on December 14, 2009
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:59 PM on December 14, 2009
I think her own "bitter" is pretty good, actually.
Disagree strongly with "superciliousness", which requires superiority/arrogance.
posted by rokusan at 11:12 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]
Disagree strongly with "superciliousness", which requires superiority/arrogance.
posted by rokusan at 11:12 PM on December 14, 2009 [1 favorite]
Hmm, how about begrudging, covetous, envious, envying, grabby, grasping, green-eyed, grudging, guarded, intolerant, invidious, jaundiced, mistrustful, possessive, possessory, resentful, suspicious, disappointed, disgruntled, displeased, faultfinding, fretful, fretting, frustrated, griping, grudging, grumbling, insatiable, irked, jaundiced, malcontent, malcontented, not satisfied, offended, querulous, sniveling, sulky, sullen, unappeased, unassuaged, unfulfilled, ungratified, unsated, unsatisfied, or vexed? via
I would add that all these words make me think of Cheney, along with dyspeptic.
posted by bearwife at 11:21 PM on December 14, 2009 [3 favorites]
I would add that all these words make me think of Cheney, along with dyspeptic.
posted by bearwife at 11:21 PM on December 14, 2009 [3 favorites]
ptm: “Looking for a word that expresses ‘jealous anger’... My daughter asked me "What's a word for jealous and acting angry about it for everything else in life? Like bitter or something." I couldn't come up with anything beyond concupiscible which doesn't quite do it for me. What comes to my mind is a word that describes how Dick Cheney looks most of the time. Any help would be appreciated.”
This is a tough one because I don't really know what you mean by “jealous.” Up until very recently (and in some quarters even now) jealousy was a word for a person who had something which they did not wish to share, specifically in the context of a lover who does not wish to share her or his mate but in other contexts as well. The classic example I always think of is the Bible-y "your god is a jealous god" thing - this meant specifically "he doesn't want to share you with other gods." Whereas, over time, through a strange displacement which I find fascinating when it's not confusing me, the word jealous has come to signify what used to be called envy in many places, most notably here in America; "he was jealous of my car" means, of course, not "he didn't want anybody else driving my car," but rather "he really wanted my car, and he envied me that I had it." The notable shift resides in the fact that, in old jealousy, you can only be jealous about something you already possess, where as new jealousy is about things you don't possess. I find this a little confusing because I think the two are really different.
I'm sort of confused as to which sort of jealousy you mean. Do you mean "jealous anger" in the sense of a person being angry that her lover, friends, home, et cetera, might betray her or otherwise stop being hers; or do you mean "jealous anger" in the sense of a person being angry that other people have all sorts of things that he wants?
I don't know if you were shooting for something so specific; I can't quite parse the Dick Cheney example, and the only thing I can think is that "jealous" is just a rough term for it that kind of gets at what you mean. Sorry if I'm making a big deal out of something that doesn't actually matter to the question.
posted by koeselitz at 11:26 PM on December 14, 2009 [6 favorites]
This is a tough one because I don't really know what you mean by “jealous.” Up until very recently (and in some quarters even now) jealousy was a word for a person who had something which they did not wish to share, specifically in the context of a lover who does not wish to share her or his mate but in other contexts as well. The classic example I always think of is the Bible-y "your god is a jealous god" thing - this meant specifically "he doesn't want to share you with other gods." Whereas, over time, through a strange displacement which I find fascinating when it's not confusing me, the word jealous has come to signify what used to be called envy in many places, most notably here in America; "he was jealous of my car" means, of course, not "he didn't want anybody else driving my car," but rather "he really wanted my car, and he envied me that I had it." The notable shift resides in the fact that, in old jealousy, you can only be jealous about something you already possess, where as new jealousy is about things you don't possess. I find this a little confusing because I think the two are really different.
I'm sort of confused as to which sort of jealousy you mean. Do you mean "jealous anger" in the sense of a person being angry that her lover, friends, home, et cetera, might betray her or otherwise stop being hers; or do you mean "jealous anger" in the sense of a person being angry that other people have all sorts of things that he wants?
I don't know if you were shooting for something so specific; I can't quite parse the Dick Cheney example, and the only thing I can think is that "jealous" is just a rough term for it that kind of gets at what you mean. Sorry if I'm making a big deal out of something that doesn't actually matter to the question.
posted by koeselitz at 11:26 PM on December 14, 2009 [6 favorites]
I can't think of a single word but the phrases "seething with envy' or "jealous rage' spring to mind.
posted by fshgrl at 11:46 PM on December 14, 2009
posted by fshgrl at 11:46 PM on December 14, 2009
Assuming you mean "jealous" in the sense of being envious and not "jealous" in the sense of being jealous of your privacy, money etc, then I'd go with:
"Destructive envy" or "Seething envy."
posted by MuffinMan at 12:31 AM on December 15, 2009
"Destructive envy" or "Seething envy."
posted by MuffinMan at 12:31 AM on December 15, 2009
Rancourous.
posted by misteraitch at 12:47 AM on December 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by misteraitch at 12:47 AM on December 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
Not a single word, but around here we call it Frank Grimes Syndrome.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:56 AM on December 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:56 AM on December 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
Malignant envy.
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:24 AM on December 15, 2009
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:24 AM on December 15, 2009
"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." - William Congreve
posted by cali59 at 4:57 AM on December 15, 2009
posted by cali59 at 4:57 AM on December 15, 2009
What comes to my mind is a word that describes how Dick Cheney looks most of the time.
I think that little P.S. through a big wrench into this. Is that what your daughter agrees she's looking for, or is that just your own extra twist?
Because I see a lot of colorful expressions in that Cheney fella's face, but jealous isn't one of them.
posted by rokusan at 5:35 AM on December 15, 2009
I think that little P.S. through a big wrench into this. Is that what your daughter agrees she's looking for, or is that just your own extra twist?
Because I see a lot of colorful expressions in that Cheney fella's face, but jealous isn't one of them.
posted by rokusan at 5:35 AM on December 15, 2009
pettish or petulant
posted by Allee Katze at 7:24 AM on December 15, 2009
posted by Allee Katze at 7:24 AM on December 15, 2009
spite might be good.
posted by iamnotateenagegirl at 12:42 PM on December 15, 2009
posted by iamnotateenagegirl at 12:42 PM on December 15, 2009
not a single word, but the English expression 'looking hard done by' seems to fit (though maybe in your family context you should just adopt 'Cheneyish' . . .)
posted by davemack at 3:25 AM on December 16, 2009
posted by davemack at 3:25 AM on December 16, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Kirklander at 10:53 PM on December 14, 2009