Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to possess
Participle: possessed
Gerund: possessing
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | possess |
| you | possess |
| he;she;it | possesses |
| we | possess |
| you | possess |
| they | possess |
Perfect
| I | have possessed |
| you | have possessed |
| he;she;it | has possessed |
| we | have possessed |
| you | have possessed |
| they | have possessed |
Past
| I | possessed |
| you | possessed |
| he;she;it | possessed |
| we | possessed |
| you | possessed |
| they | possessed |
Pluperfect
| I | had possessed |
| you | had possessed |
| he;she;it | had possessed |
| we | had possessed |
| you | had possessed |
| they | had possessed |
Future
| I | will possess |
| you | will possess |
| he;she;it | will possess |
| we | will possess |
| you | will possess |
| they | will possess |
Future Perfect
| I | will have possessed |
| you | will have possessed |
| he;she;it | will have possessed |
| we | will have possessed |
| you | will have possessed |
| they | will have possessed |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | possess |
| you | possess |
| he;she;it | possess |
| we | possess |
| you | possess |
| they | possess |
Perfect
| I | have possessed |
| you | have possessed |
| he;she;it | have possessed |
| we | have possessed |
| you | have possessed |
| they | have possessed |
Imperfect
| I | possessed |
| you | possessed |
| he;she;it | possessed |
| we | possessed |
| you | possessed |
| they | possessed |
Pluperfect
| I | had possessed |
| you | had possessed |
| he;she;it | had possessed |
| we | had possessed |
| you | had possessed |
| they | had possessed |
Conditional
Present
| I | would possess |
| you | would possess |
| he;she;it | would possess |
| we | would possess |
| you | would possess |
| they | would possess |
Perfect
| I | would have possessed |
| you | would have possessed |
| he;she;it | would have possessed |
| we | would have possessed |
| you | would have possessed |
| they | would have possessed |
Imperative
| you | possess |
| we | Let's possess |
| you | possess |
Verbs conjugated like 'possess'
abash,
abolish,
abroach,
accomplish,
accroach,
address,
admix,
admonish,
ado,
adpress,
affamish,
affix,
alloo,
amass,
ambush,
anguish,
annex,
appeach,
appears,
approach, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'possess'
assess,
hostess,
obsess,
posset,
repossess,
unpossess,
abscess,
confess,
cosset,
dispossess,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- have and keep possession of something
- hold
- have rightful possession of
- own
- to have ownership of
- have, hold, own
- have
- maintain, hold, own, control, occupy
Antonyms
- to have ownership of
- go without, lose
- to cause something to cease to be in one's possession
- acquire, find, receive, lose
- have
- lack, need, miss, lose
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. 1483, "to hold, occupy, reside in" (without regard to ownership), from O.Fr.
possessier (1269), from L.
possess-, pp. stem of
possidere "to possess." Meaning "to hold as property" is recorded from c.1500. Demonic sense is recorded from 1534 (implied in
possessed).
Possessive first attested 1530 in grammatical sense.
2. PIE word
3. *pótis
4. 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: Middle French '
possesser'.
Verbs referencing "possess"
Ido posedar.
Sample Sentences
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Once—once—I found myself on deck. I do n't know how I got there, or what possessed me to go there, but there I was; and completely dressed too, with a huge pea-coat on, and a pair of boots such as no weak man in his senses could ever have got into. I found myself standing, when a [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
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[...] and quite a pioneer establishment, on the plan I have already described. I was glad to hear this, for it is unquestionably a very indifferent one. The most is made, however, of the means it possesses, and it is as well regulated as such a place can be.
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
[...] public conveyances of the States, these are often the most intolerable and the most insufferable companions. United to every disagreeable characteristic that the worst kind of American travellers possess, these countrymen of ours display an amount of insolent conceit and cool assumption of superiority, quite monstrous to behold. In the coarse familiarity of their approach, and the effrontery of [...]
(American Notes for General Circulation)
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[...] her, I treat all such slander as bearing on its face the strongest marks of wild improbability. But that they take as proselytes, persons so young that they cannot know their own minds, and cannot possess much strength of resolution in this or any other respect, I can assert from my own observation of the extreme juvenility of certain youthful Shakers whom I saw at work among the party on the road.
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
[...] adjusted the difference between these two little boys, who in any other part of the world would have been amicably adjusted on two porters ’ backs and soundly flogged with birchen rods, he will be possessed, no doubt, with as strong a sense of its ludicrous character, as that which sets me laughing whenever its image rises up before me.
(American Notes for General Circulation)
-
“ And when this mortal life shall fail, And flesh and sense shall cease, I shall possess within the veil A life of joy and peace. ~~~ “ When we 've been there ten thousand years, Bright shining like the sun, We 've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we first begun. ”
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
-
All noticed the change in his appearance. Cheerfulness and alertness seemed to return to him, and a quietness which no insult or injury could ruffle seemed to possess him.
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
-
After some months of unsuccessful search, by the merest accident, George fell in with a man, in New Orleans, who happened to be possessed of the desired information; and with his money in his pocket, our hero took steamboat for Red River, resolving to find out and re-purchase his old friend.
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
-
George sat fixed with solemn awe. It seemed to him that the place was holy; and, as he closed the lifeless eyes, and rose up from the dead, only one thought possessed him,—that expressed by his simple old friend,—“What a thing it is to be a Christian ! ”
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
-
[...] such indulgence, and his confidence in his affection was such, that he believed he must have been practised upon to induce him to revolt from him. He visited the Quaker, in high anger; but, being possessed of uncommon candor and fairness, was soon quieted by his arguments and representations. It was a side of the subject which he never had heard,—never had thought on; and he immediately told the [...]
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
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If we still possessed Titan powers, we'd use them to resist. But even with those barrels pointed at us, we remain powerless.
(Attack on Titan the Movie: The Last Attack)
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- Atreya... - You didn't kill him. We are not able to understand who he is possessing.
(Geethanjali Malli Vachindi)