POSSESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does possess mean? 

• POSSESS (verb)
  The verb POSSESS has 3 senses:

1. have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill

2. have ownership or possession of

3. enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas

  Familiarity information: POSSESS used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POSSESS (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they possess    ... he / she / it possesses   
Past simple: possessed   
Past participle: possessed   
-ing form: possessing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

he possesses great knowledge about the Middle East

Hypernyms (to "possess" is one way to...):

feature; have (have as a feature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "possess"):

exhibit (show an attribute, property, knowledge, or skill)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Have ownership or possession of

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

have; own; possess

Context example:

How many cars does she have?

Verb group:

feature; have (have as a feature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "possess"):

prepossess (possess beforehand)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

possession (the act of having and controlling property)

possessive (desirous of owning)

possessive (having or showing a desire to control or dominate)

possessor (a person who owns something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

A terrible rage possessed her

Hypernyms (to "possess" is one way to...):

dominate (be in control)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

possessed (of, pertaining to, or like a demon or possession by a demon)

 Context examples 

This agent also possesses anticholinergic property.

(Disopyramide, NCI Thesaurus)

According to the new study, ultrahot Jupiters do in fact possess the ingredients for water (hydrogen and oxygen atoms).

(Water Is Destroyed, Then Reborn in Ultrahot Jupiters, NASA/JPL)

"Was that Grace Poole? and is she possessed with a devil?" thought I. Impossible now to remain longer by myself: I must go to Mrs. Fairfax.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The ring possesses the mass of 500 suns.

(Herschel sees budding stars and a giant, strange ring, NASA)

To possess every necessary or normal part or component or step; having come or been brought to a conclusion.

(Complete, NCI Thesaurus)

Further analysis found that mice possess NPGL, and its associated neuron network, in the exact same locations of the brain as those regions already known to control appetite suppression and energy use.

(New Appetite Control Mechanism Found in Brain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

I'll try not to, but I'm always possessed to burst out with some particularly blunt speech or revolutionary sentiment before her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I stole into his state-room and possessed myself of his revolvers.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

However, it does possess a high degree of structural similarity with that of chicken TIMP-3 (ChIMP-3).

(Metalloproteinase Inhibitor 3, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A population or type of organisms that is genetically different from others of the same species and possessing a set of defined characteristics.

(Organism Strain, NCI Thesaurus)