Definitions for possess
pəˈzɛspos·sess

Princeton's WordNet(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. possessverb

   have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill

   "he possesses great knowledge about the Middle East"

2. own, have, possessverb

   have ownership or possession of

   "He owns three houses in Florida"; "How many cars does she have?"

3. possessverb

   enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas

   "What possessed you to buy this house?"; "A terrible rage possessed her"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. possessverb

   To have; to have ownership of.

   He does not even possess a working telephone.

   Etymology: * From possessus, past participle of possīdeō.

2. possessverb

   To take control of someone's body or mind, especially in a supernatural manner.

   They thought he was possessed by evil spirits.

   Etymology: * From possessus, past participle of possīdeō.

3. possessverb

   To occupy.

   Etymology: * From possessus, past participle of possīdeō.

4. possessverb

   To vest ownership in (someone) with ownership.

   Etymology: * From possessus, past participle of possīdeō.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Possessverb

   to occupy in person; to hold or actually have in one's own keeping; to have and to hold

2. Possessverb

   to have the legal title to; to have a just right to; to be master of; to own; to have; as, to possess property, an estate, a book

3. Possessverb

   to obtain occupation or possession of; to accomplish; to gain; to seize

4. Possessverb

   to enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; -- said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc

5. Possessverb

   to put in possession; to make the owner or holder of property, power, knowledge, etc.; to acquaint; to inform; -- followed by of or with before the thing possessed, and now commonly used reflexively

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Possess

   poz-zes′, v.t. to have or hold as an owner: to have the control of: to inform: to seize: to enter into and influence: to put (one's self) in possession (of): (Spens.) to achieve: (Shak.) put in possession of information, convince.—adj. Possessed′, influenced by some evil spirit, demented.—n. Posses′sion, act of possessing: the thing possessed: a country taken by conquest: property: state of being possessed, as by an evil spirit: madness.—adjs. Posses′sionary, Posses′sive, pertaining to or denoting possession.—n. Posses′sive (gram.), a pronoun denoting possession: the possessive case.—adv. Posses′sively.—n. Posses′sor, one who possesses: owner: proprietor: occupant.—adj. Posses′sory, relating to a possessor or possession: having possession.—Give possession, to put in another's power or occupancy; Take possession, to assume ownership; Writ of possession, a process directing a sheriff to put a person in possession of property recovered in ejectment. [Fr.,—L. possidēre, possessum.]

Matched Categories

1. • Dominate
   • Have

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'possess' in Verbs Frequency: #463

How to pronounce possess?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say possess in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of possess in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of possess in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of possess in a Sentence

1. Arsenio Hall:

   I don't possess a lot of self-confidence. I'm an actor so I simply act confident every time I hit the stage. I am consumed with the fear of failing. Reaching deep down and finding confidence has made all my dreams come true.

2. RJ Intindola – (Gandolfo):

   Even the wisest among us do not possess complete knowledge of every subject; however, they acquire a deep understanding regarding the limits of their knowledge. Acknowledge, the extent of your knowledge.

3. Samier Dandan:

   We're still getting reports of incidents coming in today, but we are quite encouraged by this campaign. It shows the support of the Australian public and how much of a big heart they possess.

4. C. C. Colton:

   There is a diabolical trio existing in the natural man, implacable, inextinguishable, co-operative and consentaneous, pride, envy, and hate; pride that makes us fancy we deserve all the goods that others possess; envy that some should be admired while we are overlooked; and hate, because all that is bestowed on others, diminishes the sum we think due to ourselves.

5. Dag Hammarskjold:

   You are the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does. If you seek yourself, you rob the lens of its transparency. You will know life and be acknowledged by it according to your degree of transparency, your capacity, that is, to vanish as an end, and remain purely as a means.

Images & Illustrations of possess

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