| / English Dictionary |
POSSESSION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Anything owned or possessed
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("possession" is a kind of...):
relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "possession"):
belongings; holding; property (something owned; any tangible or intangible possession that is owned by someone)
white elephant (a valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensive)
transferred possession; transferred property (a possession whose ownership changes or lapses)
circumstances (a person's financial situation (good or bad))
assets (anything of material value or usefulness that is owned by a person or company)
treasure (any possession that is highly valued by its owner)
liabilities (anything that is owed to someone else)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of having and controlling property
Synonyms:
ownership; possession
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("possession" is a kind of...):
control (the activity of managing or exerting control over something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "possession"):
holding; keeping; retention (the act of retaining something)
criminal possession ((law) possession for which criminal sanctions are provided because the property may not lawfully be possessed or may not be possessed under certain circumstances)
constructive possession ((law) having the power and intention to have and control property but without direct control or actual presence upon it)
actual possession ((law) immediate and direct physical control over property)
Derivation:
possess (have ownership or possession of)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(sport) the act of controlling the ball (or puck)
Example:
they took possession of the ball on their own goal line
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("possession" is a kind of...):
control (the activity of managing or exerting control over something)
Domain category:
athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior
Synonyms:
possession; self-command; self-control; self-possession; self-will; will power; willpower
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("possession" is a kind of...):
firmness; firmness of purpose; resoluteness; resolution; resolve (the trait of being resolute)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "possession"):
nerves (control of your emotions)
presence of mind (self-control in a crisis; ability to say or do the right thing in an emergency)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A territory that is controlled by a ruling state
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("possession" is a kind of...):
district; dominion; territorial dominion; territory (a region marked off for administrative or other purposes)
Instance hyponyms:
Macao; Macau (a former Portuguese province on the south coast of China and two islands in the South China Sea; reverted to China in 1999)
British Virgin Islands (more than 40 northeastern Virgin Islands (15 inhabited); a dependent territory of the United Kingdom)
American Virgin Islands; United States Virgin Islands; VI (more than 130 southeastern Virgin Islands; a dependent territory of the United States)
Gilbert and Ellice Islands (a former British possession in Micronesia)
Faeroe Islands; Faeroes; Faroe Islands; Faroes (a self-governing colony that is a possession of Denmark in the Faroe Islands)
French Oceania; French Polynesia (a French overseas possession in the South Pacific)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A mania restricted to one thing or idea
Synonyms:
monomania; possession
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("possession" is a kind of...):
cacoethes; mania; passion (an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Being controlled by passion or the supernatural
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("possession" is a kind of...):
enchantment; spell; trance (a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation)
Context examples:
The matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and of some £ 14,000, which lay to his credit at the bank.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
In the same way, he came to tolerate Matt—as a possession of his master.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
She remained as close to the horror as on the first morning when the unexpected stalked into the cabin and took possession.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
Before she could make up her mind, she was taken possession of by Mr. Brooke, who said all in one breath, I couldn't help hearing, Meg.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I did not use to think her wanting in self-possession, but she had not quite enough for the demands of yesterday.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
No sooner was she out of sight, than Emma exclaimed, What an exquisite possession a good picture of her would be!
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
The possession of these treasures gave me extreme delight; I now continually studied and exercised my mind upon these histories, whilst my friends were employed in their ordinary occupations.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
“There’s a constable in possession,” said Baynes.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
That he should be married soon, before (as she imagined) he could be in orders, and consequently before he could be in possession of the living, surprised her a little at first.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
“Well,” said I, “I've come aboard to take possession of this ship, Mr. Hands; and you'll please regard me as your captain until further notice.”
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
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