Word
possess
Phoneticspos·sess
US/pəˈzɛs/
UK/pəzˈɛs/
Definitions
01to own or have
v. to have or own a particular quality, skill, or physical object.
v. to have as a property, attribute, or characteristic; to be in possession of something.
“The new applicant possesses all the technical skills we need for this job.”
“The defendant was found to possess several encrypted files that proved his involvement in the data breach.”
Usage
Always transitive; requires a direct object.
02legal possession
v. to have something in your care or control, even if you do not legally own it.
v. to have physical control or occupancy of property or land, distinguished from legal title or ownership.
“It is illegal to possess certain chemicals without a special permit.”
“The court had to determine whether the tenant continued to possess the premises after the lease had officially expired.”
Technical
Usage
Used specifically in legal contexts regarding property and evidence.
03to be controlled by a feeling
v. to be controlled by a very strong emotion or idea.
v. of an emotion, idea, or impulse: to dominate or influence a person's mind or actions completely.
“I don't know what possessed me to say something so rude to her.”
“A sudden, inexplicable rage seemed to possess him, causing him to storm out of the meeting without a word of explanation.”
Usage
Often used in the passive voice or with 'what' in questions like 'What possessed you?'
04supernatural control
v. of a spirit or demon: to take control of a person's body or mind.
v. of a supernatural entity: to inhabit and exert total control over a person or animal.
“In the movie, a dark spirit possesses the young girl and changes her voice.”
“Ancient legends spoke of a vengeful ghost that would possess any traveler who dared to sleep within the ruined temple walls.”
Literary
Usage
Commonly found in religious, horror, or mythological contexts.
Real-World Examples
“He added that Iran should not be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon.” “One day in January, what comes into Nicholas is the god Pan – a possessing, deranging, life-threatening spirit.” 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”)).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Word family
Idioms
like a man possessed — In an energetic or uncontrolled way.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/possess