possessive
[ puh-zes-iv ]
/ pəˈzɛs ɪv /
adjective
jealously opposed to the personal independence of, or to any influence other than one's own upon, a child, spouse, etc.
desirous of possessing, especially excessively so: Young children are so possessive they will not allow others to play with their toys; a possessive lover.
of or relating to possession or ownership.
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.
noun Grammar.
the possessive case.
a form in the possessive.
OTHER WORDS FROM possessive
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH possessive
possessive possessoryWords nearby possessive
Example sentences from the Web for possessiveness
British Dictionary definitions for possessiveness
possessive
/ (pəˈzɛsɪv) /
adjective
of or relating to possession or ownership
having or showing an excessive desire to possess, control, or dominate
a possessive mother
grammar
- another word for genitive (def. 1)
- denoting an inflected form of a noun or pronoun used to convey the idea of possession, association, etc, as my or Harry's
noun
grammar
- the possessive case
- a word or speech element in the possessive case
Derived forms of possessive
possessively, adverb possessiveness, nounCultural definitions for possessiveness
possessive
The case of a noun or pronoun that shows possession. Nouns are usually made possessive by adding an apostrophe and s: “The bicycle is Sue's, not Mark's.” Possessive pronouns can take the place of possessive nouns: “The bicycle is hers, not his.” (See nominative case and objective case.)