adjective
possessive
puh-ZESS-iv/pəˈzesɪv/
Wanting excessive control over someone or that person's attention.
Her possessive partner tries to stop her from greeting her friends.
Etymology
Latin possidere included holding something under one's control. Applied to someone's attitude, possessive turns that relation of ownership into a wish to keep something exclusively for oneself.
In context
they are very possessive about their owners and may not like you got closer to other pet animals
More examples
- She becomes possessive when her best friend makes new friends.
- His possessive parents expect him to spend every holiday with them.
- You can care deeply about someone without being possessive.
Forms
possessive · more possessive · most possessive
possessiveness noun — An excessive desire to control another person.
possessively adverb — In a way that demands exclusive attention.
Similar words
- controlling
- Emphasizes directing someone's behavior rather than demanding exclusive attention.
- jealous
- Emphasizes fear of losing someone's affection to a rival.