Library / English Dictionary

POSSESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have ownership or possession of

Example:

How many cars does she have?

Synonyms:

have; own; possess

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Verb group:

feature; have (have as a feature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "possess"):

prepossess (possess beforehand)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

possession (the act of having and controlling property)

possessive (desirous of owning)

possessive (having or showing a desire to control or dominate)

possessor (a person who owns something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill

Example:

he possesses great knowledge about the Middle East

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "possess" is one way to...):

feature; have (have as a feature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "possess"):

exhibit (show an attribute, property, knowledge, or skill)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas

Example:

A terrible rage possessed her

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "possess" is one way to...):

dominate (be in control)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

possessed (of, pertaining to, or like a demon or possession by a demon)

Credits

 Context examples: 

You may have heard of any little reputation which I possess.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The line is a valuable in vitro host system for oncogenic virus transformation studies since 3T3 cells possess a high sensitivity to contact inhibition.

(NIH/3T3, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

These cells do possess Fc receptors for IgG and can kill target cells using antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

(Murine Natural Killer Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

In their findings, the researchers found that human brains that possess even one copy of apoE4 are over twice as likely to eventually develop Alzheimer's disease within their lifetime.

(Alzheimer's Disease Gene Successfully Removed From Human Brain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Apart from Earth, Titan is the only body in the solar system known to possess surface lakes and seas.

(The Mysterious 'Lakes' on Saturn's Moon Titan, NASA)

The effector "killer" cell possesses Fc receptors.

(Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, NCI Thesaurus)

Mit-sah resembled his father, much of whose grey wisdom he possessed.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Anti-CEA BiTE monoclonal antibody MEDI-565 possesses two antigen-recognition sites, one for CEA and one for the CD3 complex, a group of T cell surface glycoproteins that complex with the T cell receptor (TCR).

(Anti-CEA BiTE Monoclonal Antibody MEDI-565, NCI Thesaurus)

This agent, when administered in conjunction with a synthetic acyclic guanosine analogue, possesses potential antineoplastic activity.

(Ad-hCMV-TK, NCI Thesaurus)

The triacetate salt of azauridine, a synthetic triazine nucleoside derivative possessing antineoplastic and anti-psoriatic activity.

(Azaribine, NCI Thesaurus)