possessive

American  

[puh-zes-iv] / pəˈzɛs ɪv /

adjective

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

2. desirous of possessing, especially excessively so.

   Young children are so possessive they will not allow others to play with their toys; a possessive lover.

3. of or relating to possession or ownership.

4. Grammar.

   1. indicating possession, ownership, origin, etc. His in his book is a possessive adjective. His in The book is his is a possessive pronoun.

   2. noting or pertaining to a case that indicates possession, ownership, origin, etc., as, in English, John's in John's hat.

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noun

Grammar.

1. the possessive case.

2. a form in the possessive.

possessive British  

/ pəˈzɛsɪv /

adjective

1. of or relating to possession or ownership

2. having or showing an excessive desire to possess, control, or dominate

   a possessive mother

3. grammar

   1. another word for genitive

   2. denoting an inflected form of a noun or pronoun used to convey the idea of possession, association, etc, as my or Harry's

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noun

1. grammar

   1. the possessive case

   2. a word or speech element in the possessive case

possessive Cultural  

1. 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.)

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Other Word Forms

• nonpossessive
  adjective
• nonpossessively
  adverb
• nonpossessiveness
  noun
• possessively
  adverb
• possessiveness
  noun
• unpossessive
  adjective
• unpossessively
  adverb
• unpossessiveness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of possessive

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

Explanation

Being possessive means you're being a little selfish about people or things in your life: you're clinging to them tightly and saying "Mine!" Being possessive isn’t a good thing — possessive people are usually insecure and controlling. For example, you're being possessive of your pooch if you won't let anyone else play with it. A friend might be possessive of you if they get jealous when you hang out with other people. But in grammar, possessive is less creepy: a possessive word indicates ownership, like the word “dog's” in the sentence "Your dog's bowl just spilled on the carpet."

Example Sentences

With her husband so frequently absent, child-rearing fell almost entirely to Frances, who proved a loving but possessive mother.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026

Most notably, there’s an attempt to mirror Latin grammar by omitting articles and possessive pronouns: “We stray from point.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

The inquest has also heard that Gunner Beck received thousands of messages from another senior colleague, Bombardier Ryan Mason, whom she described as being "psychotic and possessive".

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2025

As it moved through TikTok and Instagram, the term focused solely on the plural possessive, as people jokingly addressed their intangible audiences.

From Slate • Nov. 3, 2024

He was more than possessive with his sons, claiming them as if they were parts of himself.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

Related Words

• selfish