Possessive Definition

pə-zĕsĭv
possessives
adjective
Of possession, or ownership.
Webster's New World
Showing, or characterized by a desire for, possession.
A possessive child.
Webster's New World
Having or showing a desire to dominate, control, influence, etc.
A possessive mother.
Webster's New World
Of, relating to, or being a noun or pronoun case that indicates possession.
American Heritage
Designating or of a case, form, or construction expressing possession or some like relationship: in English, this is expressed a) by the addition of a final s (for nouns and some pronouns) preceded or followed by an apostrophe, or sometimes by the addition of an apostrophe only after a final (s) sound (Ex.: John's book, women's lives, boys' games, conscience' sake) b) by a change of form in pronouns (Ex.: I, my, mine; you, your, yours; it, its; who, whose) c) by of preceding a form without the possessive ending (Ex.: lives of men) or preceding a form in the possessive case (Ex.: a play of Shakespeare's, a friend of mine — called a double possessive)
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
noun
possessives
The possessive case.
Webster's New World
A possessive form or construction.
American Heritage
A word or phrase in this case.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Possessive

Noun

Singular:
possessive
Plural:
possessives

Origin of Possessive

  • From Latin possessivus (“of or pertaining to possession"), from possessiō (“possessing"), from possidÄ“re (“to possess").

    From Wiktionary

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