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possessive

pos·ses·sive
P p

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [puh-zes-iv]
    • /pəˈzɛs ɪv/
    • /pəˈzes.ɪv/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [puh-zes-iv]
    • /pəˈzɛs ɪv/

Definitions of possessive word

  • adjective possessive jealously opposed to the personal independence of, or to any influence other than one's own upon, a child, spouse, etc. 1
  • adjective possessive desirous of possessing, especially excessively so: Young children are so possessive they will not allow others to play with their toys; a possessive lover. 1
  • adjective possessive of or relating to possession or ownership. 1
  • adjective possessive 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. 1
  • noun possessive the possessive case. 1
  • noun possessive a form in the possessive. 1
See all 23 definitions of possessive

Information block about the term

Origin of possessive

First appearance:

before 1520
One of the 28% oldest English words
From the Latin word possessīvus, dating back to 1520-30. See possess, -ive

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Possessive

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Possessive

possessive popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 92% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

possessive usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for possessive

adj possessive

  • banausic — merely mechanical; materialistic; utilitarian
  • conservational — the act of conserving; prevention of injury, decay, waste, or loss; preservation: conservation of wildlife; conservation of human rights.
  • custodial — Custodial means relating to keeping people in prison.
  • materialistic — excessively concerned with physical comforts or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions, rather than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.

adjective possessive

  • craving — an intense desire or longing
  • jealous — feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages (often followed by of): He was jealous of his rich brother.
All 6 Synonyms of possessive

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Related words

  • else

    thing other than

  • people

    persons indefinitely or collectively; persons in general: to find it easy to talk to people; What will people think?

  • whose

    as who should say, Archaic. in a manner of speaking; so to say.

  • each other

    Although some insist that each other be used only in reference to two (The two candidates respected each other) and one another in reference to three or more (The three nations threaten one another), in standard practice they are interchangeable. Each other is not restricted to two, nor is one another restricted to three or more.  The possessive of each other is each other's; the possessive of one another is one another's.

  • possessive adjective

    See at possessive (def 4a).
All related words to possessive

See also

Matching words

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