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| pos·sess [ pə zéss ] (past and past participle pos·sessed, present participle pos·sess·ing, 3rd person present singular pos·sess·es) |
transitive verb |
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| Definition: |
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1. own something: to have or own something
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2. have something as ability: to have something as an ability, quality, or characteristic
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3. have knowledge of something: to have or acquire skill or knowledge of something
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4. take control of somebody: to take control of somebody so that the person's behavior or thinking is affected
  possessed by fear and unable to speak
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5. fill somebody with an emotion: to cause somebody to be influenced by something, especially an emotion
The news possessed us with foreboding.
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6. control feeling: to control yourself or a feeling
(
formal
)
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7. have sex with somebody: to have sexual intercourse with somebody
(
dated
)
(
sometimes considered offensive
)
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8. seize something: to gain or seize something
(
archaic
)
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| [14th century. Via Old French possesser< Latin possess-, past participle of possidere "sit on as head" < sedere "sit"] |
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| pos·ses·sor noun |
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