Link Centre Dictionary

possessive

pos·ses·sive

UK/pəˈzes.əv/ US/pəˈzɛs.ɪv/ uncommon

adjective

1.

serving to express or indicate possession

  • “possessive pronouns”
  • “the genitive endings”
Synonyms
2.

desirous of owning

  • “small children are so possessive they will not let others play with their toys”
Similar
3.

having or showing a desire to control or dominate

  • “a possessive parent”
Similar

Origin

From Middle French possessif, from Latin possessivus (“of or pertaining to possession”), from possessiō (“possessing”), from possidēre (“to possess”). By surface analysis, possess + -ive.

Phrases

  • double possessive
  • independent possessive
  • possessive adjective
  • possessive determiner
  • possessive pronoun
  • possessive suffix

Related words

Word family

Pertaining to

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.