possessed
Americanadjective
-
spurred or moved by a strong feeling, madness, or a supernatural power (often followed by by, of, orwith ).
The army fought as if possessed. The village believed her to be possessed of the devil.
-
self-possessed; poised.
idioms
adjective
-
(foll by of) owning or having
-
(usually postpositive) under the influence of a powerful force, such as a spirit or strong emotion
-
a less common word for self-possessed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of possessed
Explanation
Someone who's possessed is completely controlled by some force. If you've ever seen a crazed sports fan screaming with joy for the winning team, you've seen a person possessed with team spirit. While possessed is the past tense of the verb possess, to have, it most often describes someone who's obsessed with something. The controlling force can be an emotion, like when your friend is possessed by her infatuation with her favorite pop star. It can also be a supernatural power or demon — possessed describes someone you believe is truly controlled by an evil spirit, or someone who just acts that way.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The FBI was shown to have possessed the same data for 10 months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Many of my friends who work in tech did the same with coding — presenting certain projects to show they possessed certain skills, even if they hadn’t been paid for them.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
If that original star possessed a powerful magnetic field, the collapse would dramatically amplify it, producing a magnetar with a magnetic field 100 to 1,000 times stronger than that of a typical pulsar.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
His humility with press off the pitch is equally as admirable, while on the pitch he has an aura that few sportspeople in history have possessed.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Then everyone knew he was possessed by the spirit of the dead wife.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
