Meaning & use
possess
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To own something or have it in your hands or control, usually something of value.
Grammar: Takes an object and is rarely used in the continuous form: she possesses a rare book, not she is possessing a rare book.
Patterns
- possess something
The museum possesses several paintings that nobody has ever seen on display.
It is illegal to possess a firearm without a licence in many countries.
He possessed little more than the clothes he was wearing.
verbtransitiveformal
To have a certain quality, skill, or feature as part of your character or nature.
Grammar: Takes an object that names a quality: possess courage, possess the skills.
Patterns
- possess a quality
- possess the ability to do something
Good teachers possess a great deal of patience.
The new engine possesses features that older models lack.
She possesses the rare ability to stay calm in a crisis.
verbtransitiveliterary
To take hold of a person's mind or behavior so strongly that they act unlike themselves, as an emotion or spirit is said to do.
Grammar: Often appears in the question what possessed you to do something, meaning why on earth did you.
Patterns
- be possessed by something
- what possessed someone to do something
What possessed you to drive through the storm?
In the legend, the old house is possessed by an angry spirit.
He worked like a man possessed until the project was finished.
Word forms
| third person singular | possesses |
|---|---|
| past tense | possessed |
| past participle | possessed |
| -ing form | possessing |
Common combinations
- possess the skills
- Candidates must possess the skills needed to manage a large team.
- possess a licence
- Drivers must possess a valid licence before they hire a van.
- possess great talent
- The young violinist possesses great talent for her age.
- possess knowledge of something
- Few people possess detailed knowledge of the old city walls.
- possess a weapon
- He was arrested for knowingly possessing a weapon in a public place.
- possessed by fear
- She was possessed by a sudden fear that she had left the gas on.
Synonyms and how they differ
- own
- Own is the everyday word for property and sounds natural in conversation, whereas possess sounds more formal or legal.
- have
- Have is much more general and informal; it covers owning, holding, and experiencing, so it lacks the weight that possess gives to qualities or valuable items.
- hold
- Hold suggests keeping something such as a title, a record, or a document, while possess stresses having it as your own.
- boast
- Boast is used when a place or thing has an impressive feature, and it carries a note of pride that possess does not.
Opposites
Word family
- possession noun
- something you own, or the state of owning or holding something
- possessor noun
- a person who owns or has something
- possessive adjective
- unwilling to share what you have, or showing ownership in grammar
- possessed adjective
- controlled by an evil spirit or a powerful emotion
- dispossess verb
- to take property away from someone
Commonly confused: possess or posses?
possess vs posses
Posses is the plural of posse, a group of people gathered to search for someone. It is a different word from possesses, which is the verb form with the extra s and e.
Practice
Which sentence uses possess correctly?
Choose one answer.
Possess is a stative verb and normally stays in the simple present, with -es for a singular subject. The continuous form in the first option is unnatural, and the other two have the wrong verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “possess”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.