Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Possess

//pəˈzɛs// verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To have (something) as, or as if as, an owner; to have, to own. transitive

    "He does not even possess a working telephone."

  2. 2
    have ownership or possession of wordnet
  3. 3
    Of an idea, thought, etc.: to dominate (someone's mind); to strongly influence. transitive

    "I am poſſeſt with an adulterate blot, / My bloud is mingled with the crime of luſt: […]"

  4. 4
    have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill wordnet
  5. 5
    Of a supernatural entity, especially one regarded as evil: to take control of (an animal or person's body or mind). transitive

    "They thought he was possessed by evil spirits."

Show 14 more definitions
  1. 6
    enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas wordnet
  2. 7
    Of a person: to control or dominate (oneself or someone, or one's own or someone's heart, mind, etc.). also, literary, poetic, reflexive, transitive

    "Resolving to possess myself in some quiet if it might be, in a time of so great jealosy, I built by my Brother's permission a study, made a fishpond, an island, and some other solitudes and retirements, at Wotton, which gave the first occasion of improving them to those water-works and gardens which afterwards succeeded them."

  3. 8
    Of a person: to control or dominate (oneself or someone, or one's own or someone's heart, mind, etc.).; To dominate (a person) sexually; to have sexual intercourse with (a person). also, literary, poetic, reflexive, transitive

    "Now tell me how long you would haue her, after you haue poſſeſt her?"

  4. 9
    To cause an idea, thought, etc., to strongly affect or influence (someone); to inspire, to preoccupy. archaic, transitive

    "What on earth possessed you to go walking by the quarry at midnight?"

  5. 10
    To occupy the attention or time of (someone). archaic, transitive

    "[W]hen he [Henry Wotton] was beyond ſeventy years of age he made this deſcription of a part of the preſent pleaſure that poſſeſt him, […]"

  6. 11
    To obtain or seize (something); to gain, to win. also, archaic, literary, transitive

    "[T]hey in ſecret counſell cloſe conſpird, / How to effect ſo hard an enterprize, / And to poſſeſſe the purpoſe they deſird: […]"

  7. 12
    Chiefly followed by of or with: to vest ownership of something in (oneself or someone); to bestow upon, to endow. also, archaic, reflexive, transitive

    "Lvcius Tarquinius (for his exceſſive pride ſurnamed Superbus) after hee had cauſed his owne father in law Seruius Tullius to be cruelly murdred, and contrarie to the Romaine lawes and cuſtomes, not requiring or ſtaying for the peoples ſuffrages, had poſſeſſed himſelfe of the kingdome: […]"

  8. 13
    To have control or possession of, but not to own (a chattel or an interest in land). transitive
  9. 14
    To give (someone) information or knowledge; to acquaint, to inform. obsolete, transitive

    "I cannot bid you bid my daughter liue, / That were impoſſible, but I pray you both, / Poſſeſs the people in Meſſina here, / How innocent ſhe died, […]"

  10. 15
    To have the ability to use, or knowledge of (a language, a skill, etc.) obsolete, transitive

    "And Mr. Holt found that Harry could read and write, and poſſeſſed the two languages of French and Engliſh very well, […]"

  11. 16
    To inhabit or occupy (a place). obsolete, transitive

    "[W]ell thou knowſt / God hath pronounc't it death to taſte that Tree, / The only ſign of our obedience left / Among ſo many ſignes of power and rule / Conferrd upon us, and Dominion giv'n / Over all other Creatures that poſſeſſe Earth, Aire, and Sea."

  12. 17
    Chiefly followed by that: to convince or persuade (someone). obsolete, transitive

    "By ſuch malicious Inſinuations, he had poſſeſs'd the Lady, that he was the only Man in the World, of a ſound, pure, and untainted Conſtitution: […]"

  13. 18
    To dominate sexually; to have sexual intercourse with. intransitive
  14. 19
    To inhabit or occupy a place. intransitive

    "Doſt thou thinke in time / She will not quench, and let inſtructions enter / Where Folly now poſſeſſes?"

Etymology

PIE word *pótis From Middle English possessen (“to have, own; to obtain possession of; to inhabit, occupy”) [and other forms], from Middle French possesser, possessier, Old French possesser, possessier (“to have, own, possess; to dominate”), from Latin possessus (“possessed; seized”), the perfect passive participle of possideō (“to have, hold, own, possess; to have possessions; to take control or possession of, occupy, seize; to abide, inhabit, occupy; to dominate”), from potis (“able, capable, possible”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pótis (“master; ruler; husband”)) + sedeō (“to sit; to be seated; to be established, hold firm”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”)).

See also for "possess"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: possess