English Explanatory Dictionary

possession

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.
  2. Something that is owned.
  3. An ownership; a taking, a holding, keeping something as one's own.
  4. A territory under the rule of another country.
  5. The condition or affliction of being possessed by a demon or other supernatural entity.
  6. The condition of being under the control of strong emotion or madness.
  7. A control of the ball; the opportunity to be on the offensive.
  8. A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.
  9. A syntactic relationship between two nouns or nominals that may be used to indicate ownership.
verb
  1. To invest with property.

Pronunciation

/pəˈzɛʃn̩/ en-us-possession.ogg

Word forms

possession possessions possessioning possessioned

Etymology

From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis. Equivalent to possess + -ion.

Synonyms

ight aught belongings owndom possession property propriety retention ownership proprietorship enthusiasm

Antonyms

absence

Derived words

adverse possession catch in possession chose in possession debtor in possession dispossession fee simple absolute in possession hostile possession nonpossession possessional possession arrow possessionary possessioner Possession Island possessionism possession is nine points of the law possession is nine-tenths of the law possessionist possessionistic possessionless possession with intent to supply possession with the intent to supply prepossession repossession self-possession take possession thing in possession
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