possessive

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When a compound noun, or a group of words treated as one name, is used to denote possession, the sign of the possessive is added to the last word only; as, _Charles and John's mother_ (the mother of both Charles and John), _Brown and Smith's store_ (the store of the firm Brown & Smith).

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. adjective Of or relating to ownership or possession.
  2. adjective Having or manifesting a desire to control or dominate another, especially in order to limit that person's relationships with others: a possessive parent.
  3. adjective Grammar Of, relating to, or being a noun or pronoun case that indicates possession.
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Examples (50)

  • The kiss was possessive, almost savagely so, and just when she was beginning to respond, he pulled away from her. —  Garwood, Julie - The Secret
  • The little girl had become extremely possessive, a trait Merry hoped would lessen in time. —  Garwood, Julie - Lion's Lady
  • Johanna was becoming possessive, and he thought that was a good sign. —  Garwood, Julie - Saving Grace
  • He was not crudely possessive, as Gunter had been, but he let it be known in a dozen subtle ways that I was under his ownership; stroking my hair as one would pet a dog, or feeding me choice tidbits from his plate and suchlike. —  Carey, Jaqueline - Kushiel's Dart orig
  • It made him feel extremely possessive, a fact he knew he could never reveal. —  Wraithbait
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French possessif = Spanish posesivo = Portuguese Italian possessivo, from Latin possessivus, possessive (in grammar), from possessus, past participle of possidere, possess: see possess.
 

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/pəˈzɛsɪv/
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