possessive
- 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.
- the possessive case.
- a form in the possessive.
Origin of possessive
Related Words for possessiveness
friendship, affinity, loyalty, devotion, case, shine, love, hankering, yen, weakness, regard, partiality, crush, tenderness, attraction, liking, fidelity, fondness, bond, possessivenessExamples from the Web for possessiveness
Contemporary Examples of possessiveness
But with the clarity of retrospect, it already showed signs of the possessiveness and jealousy that would follow years later.
The Nonfiction ‘Middlesex’: Alexander Stille’s ‘The Force of Things’Nicholas Mancusi
February 22, 2013
Historical Examples of possessiveness
Of course, she was not for him—not with that possessiveness.
The SearchGrace Livingston Hill
He was overwhelmed by the possessiveness of the awful thing.
At the CrossroadsHarriet T. Comstock
Exaggerations of possessiveness in the individual are parallel and of a piece with the clutching greed of nations and emperors.
A Short History of the WorldH. G. Wells
For effrontery of possessiveness is there anything that can exceed the nest-making, planet-populating, female, human woman?
The Mutiny of the ElsinoreJack London
Anger, defiance, pride and possessiveness supply the motives of their songs.
Birds of the wave and woodlandPhil (Philip Stewart) Robinson
possessive
- 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
- grammar
- the possessive case
- a word or speech element in the possessive case
Word Origin and History for possessiveness
possessive
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.
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.)