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.
  1. indicating possession, ownership, origin, etc. His in his book is a possessive adjective. His in The book is his is a possessive pronoun.
  2. 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.

Origin of possessive

From the Latin word possessīvus, dating back to 1520–30. See possess, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM possessive

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH possessive

possessive possessory

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
  1. another word for genitive (def. 1)
  2. 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
  1. the possessive case
  2. a word or speech element in the possessive case

Derived forms of possessive

possessively, adverb possessiveness, noun

Cultural 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.)