possessive

[ puh-zes-iv ]

/ pəˈzɛs ɪv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR possessive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

jealously opposed to the personal independence of, or to any influence other than one's own upon, a child, spouse, etc.

desirous of possessing, especially excessively so: Young children are so possessive they will not allow others to play with their toys; a possessive lover.

of or relating to possession or ownership.

Grammar.

indicating possession, ownership, origin, etc. His in his book is a possessive adjective. His in The book is his is a possessive pronoun.
noting or pertaining to a case that indicates possession, ownership, origin, etc., as, in English, John's in John's hat.

noun Grammar.

the possessive case.

a form in the possessive.

Nearby words

Origin of possessive

From the Latin word possessīvus, dating back to 1520–30. See possess, -ive

Related forms

pos·ses·sive·ly, adverbpos·ses·sive·ness, nounnon·pos·ses·sive, adjectivenon·pos·ses·sive·ly, adverb

non·pos·ses·sive·ness, nounun·pos·ses·sive, adjectiveun·pos·ses·sive·ly, adverbun·pos·ses·sive·ness, noun

Can be confusedpossessive possessory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for possessive

A jilted and possessive ex-lover who was jealous because Le was about to be married to another man?
Yale Killer Caught on Tape?|Wendy Murphy|September 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In the Beto language there is, indeed, no special pronoun of this kind, as the one used is also a possessive.
The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt|Daniel G. Brinton
When a thing belongs to two or more joint owners, the sign of the possessive is added to the last name only.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises|George Lyman Kittredge
But there was my Cousin Betty Graeme to do the honors of my board—how strange it still seemed to use the possessive pronoun!
In Jeopardy|Van Tassel Sutphen

They have the same form for both nominative and objective and are not used in the possessive case.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises|George Lyman Kittredge
In the last sentence beggar's, miser's, and Ingersoll's, are nouns in the possessive form.
Plain English|Marian Wharton

British Dictionary definitions for possessive

possessive

/ (pəˈzɛsɪv) /

adjective

of or relating to possession or ownership

having or showing an excessive desire to possess, control, or dominatea possessive mother

grammar

another word for genitive (def. 1)
denoting an inflected form of a noun or pronoun used to convey the idea of possession, association, etc, as my or Harry's

noun

grammar

the possessive case
a word or speech element in the possessive case

Derived Formspossessively, adverbpossessiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for possessive

possessive

adj.

mid-15c. (grammatical, also as a noun); 1550s in general use, from Middle French possessif (15c.) "relating to possession, possessive," and directly from Latin possessivus, from possess-, past participle stem of possidere "to possess" (see possess). Related: Possessively; possessiveness.

Culture definitions for possessive

possessive

The case of a noun or pronoun that shows possession. Nouns are usually made possessive by adding an apostrophe and s: “The bicycle is Sue's, not Mark's.” Possessive pronouns can take the place of possessive nouns: “The bicycle is hers, not his.” (See nominative case and objective case.)