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.
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OTHER WORDS FROM possessive
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH possessive
possessive , possessoryDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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
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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.