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possessive
[ puh-zes-iv ]
/ pəˈzɛs ɪv /
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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.
VIDEO FOR POSSESSIVE
What Are The Rules For Adding An Apostrophe Plus An S To Words?
The rules for showing possession—that is, owning, having, or belonging to something—in English grammar can be extremely frustrating. Here are three general rules.
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!
In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”
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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.
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OTHER WORDS FROM possessive
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH possessive
possessive , possessoryWords nearby possessive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use possessive in a sentence
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 forms of possessive
possessively, adverbpossessiveness, nounCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural 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.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.