Definitions

1. transitive, dated To vest ownership in (someone); to give someone power or knowledge; to acquaint; to inform.

2. transitive To take control of someone's body or mind, especially in a supernatural manner.

3. transitive To have; to have ownership of.

4. have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill

5. enter into and control, as of emotions or ideas

6. have ownership or possession of

7. Often Offensive To have sexual intercourse with (a woman).

8. Archaic To cause (oneself) to own, hold, or master something, such as property or knowledge.

9. To occupy fully the mind or feelings of.

10. Law To have under one's power or control.

11. To have as a quality, characteristic, or other attribute.

12. To have as property; own.

13. Archaic To gain or seize.

14. To have mastery or knowledge of.

15. Archaic To control or maintain (one's nature) in a particular condition.

16. To gain control or power over. Used of a demon or spirit.

17. To occupy in person; to hold or actually have in one's own keeping; to have and to hold.

18. To put in possession; to make the owner or holder of property, power, knowledge, etc.; to acquaint; to inform; -- followed by of or with before the thing possessed, and now commonly used reflexively.

19. To obtain occupation or possession of; to accomplish; to gain; to seize.

20. To enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; -- said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc.

21. To have the legal title to; to have a just right to; to be master of; to own; to have.

Examples

1. He possessed an egalitarian ability to get on with people from all walks of life, especially if their background happened to involve horses.

2. Of course, perfectly balanced bats are hard to secure, and a batsman who possesses one regards it as a treasure.

3. There are a few extremely creative people and a roughly equal number possessing little or no creativity.

4. What they did possess was an ability to talk about their feelings.

5. But that will come back with the quality we possess.

6. They welcome challenges that are well matched to the skills and knowledge they possess.

7. It is not therefore possessed by any one person.

8. They possess no special knowledge lacked by the rest of us.

9. They have some choice in the use of what power and knowledge they possess.

10. No botanist has possessed half their knowledge of plants.

11. The ability to adapt requires employees who possess skills and abilities that go beyond those needed in their current jobs.

12. Is it not somewhat difficult now we no longer possess Harrier jump jets or aircraft carriers?

13. At times, he possessed little of the milk of human kindness.

14. He became for a while an object of national sympathy, through being possessed of no little dignity.

15. I wonder if there was some other mysterious quality she possessed which makes her so compelling?

16. Stem cells are the body's building blocks and possess a unique ability to repair damaged tissue and bone.

17. We do possess real quality.

18. Perhaps politicians should pay closer attention to animals, some of whom seem to possess an uncanny ability to sense impending freezing weather.

19. Korea had long possessed another convention of poetry, one expressed in poetic modes using Chinese.

20. It seems we no longer possess the imagination to compete, nickname for nickname, on the world stage.

21. In fact, it is the rediscovery of something we have known and possessed for a long time, but have unintentionally lost.

22. My abode is humble: in the midst of an orchard, which my father planted: but I possess a few books, some of them curious, and should like to _read_ double the number I _possess_. "

23. The history of Tamil invasions against the only homeland that the Buddhist Sinhalese possess is not just the stuff of ancient history, but a living reality underpinned by latter-day Tamil terrorism.

24. The third quality one must possess is self-determination.

25. The second quality one must possess is the willingness to invest time and effort even if direct results do not seem at all apparent.

26. The fifth and last quality one must possess is optimism.

27. The expertise they possess is a matter of knowledge, which is distinct from rationality.

28. The unusual quality they possess is that they are fluoresce in UV light or a common black light and will literally glow in the black light.

29. Such identity as they do possess is invariably generated by the role they play in cloaking abstractions; and these, which tend to vary according to whichever fragment of papyrus or pyramid text is being quoted, rarely make for gripping narrative.

30. The most important thing which an enterprise should possess is the ability to believe in oneself and should go after that religiously.

31. ‘Regardless, all their lives, the duke and duchess had to deny that they possessed any jewels belonging to the royal family.’

32. ‘In some regions, one often came across innocent women branded as witches and lynched by villagers who wanted to possess the land and property belonging to the victims.’

33. ‘It, through the licensing authority, imposes a tax on anyone who possesses a television set but provides a varying range of services depending on where you live.’

34. ‘When TV Licensing officials call round, householders often claim they do not possess a television.’

35. ‘This healthy attitude derives from belonging to the Dutch Antilles and possessing the sixth biggest natural harbour in the world.’

36. ‘It is a temporary metropolis of tents, possessing every luxury, including generators, refrigerators, and (as far as I can understand) electric blankets.’

37. ‘I suspect that pressure has been put on prisoners possessing intelligence information in every war, and I think what should also keep in mind who these people might have been.’

38. ‘For travellers looking to venture off the beaten path, Wu Zhen, a water town possessing a cultural heritage of 1,000 years in north Zhejiang Province, is the place to go.’

39. ‘The company already lays claim to possessing the largest home delivery network in the world and the only one as yet to make a profit.’

40. ‘In the North, 34.5% own credit and charge cards with 53% possessing a cash dispenser card.’

41. ‘They were bidding everything they had, fortunes, homes, businesses, tools, their futures on possessing a prized bulb that might break.’

42. ‘Civil rights are the basic legal rights a person must possess in order to have such a status.’

43. ‘Leaders have to go with the actual knowledge they possess at the time.’

44. ‘The world is brimming with countries that possess chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.’

45. ‘But if the enemy possesses chemical, radiological, bacteriological, or nuclear weapons, they need succeed only once.’

46. ‘Shortly after the order was issued, he was indicted by a federal grand jury for possessing a firearm in violation of the statute.’

47. ‘But all of that is subject to the statutory defence (the burden of proof of which lies on the appellant) that he possessed them for a legitimate purpose.’

48. ‘He pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and was conditionally discharged for two years.’

49. ‘The appellant pleaded guilty to an offence of possessing a prohibited weapon.’

50. ‘He had pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis and cocaine.’

51. ‘You know the scenario: girl meets boy, boy has major fault in character, girl possesses necessary qualities to remedy major fault, boy recognises error of his ways, all ends well.’

52. ‘Both characters possess qualities considered essential to the Hindu lifestyle, and have become role models for Hindus of both sexes.’

53. ‘All states are more or less exceptional, in the sense that they possess unique characteristics.’

54. ‘She was in her 80s and a person of impeccable character, who possessed many fine qualities, many of these endeared her to all who knew her.’

55. ‘Luckily, it isn't long before he learns that a family amulet, passed down from his father, is actually a powerful gem that possesses the ability of time travel.’

56. ‘Furthermore, characters who possess the supernatural qualities of deities are considered to be human.’

57. ‘Females are smaller, but both male and female are tremendously powerful, possessing the ability to tear branches from bushes and uproot small trees.’

58. ‘Essential oils have the potential to act as antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral agents, as well as possessing the ability to alter body chemistry and therapeutic responses.’

59. ‘‘Neither my wife nor I believe he should be criticised or penalised for possessing those qualities,’ he said.’

60. ‘I'm interested, but not entirely surprised, to find that green tea, which I never drink, possesses the same quality as other forms of tea.’

61. ‘He still possesses all the traits that made him great in the first place.’

62. ‘Seldom does one individual possess all the talents required to meet each of these challenges.’

63. ‘We do not possess more strength than other people.’

64. ‘He also possesses the ability to communicate with insects and order them to do his bidding.’

65. ‘Major publishers are seeking authors who already possess the basic writing skills.’

66. ‘We look for the individual who possesses the ability to perform safely and effectively under stressful conditions.’

67. ‘We may be inexperienced but naivety is not a characteristic we possess in abundance.’

68. ‘Although different students possess varying degrees of expertise as writers, most will have something to contribute to such discussions.’

69. ‘The story is narrated by the chieftain's second son, widely regarded as an ‘idiot’ but possessing both wisdom and cunning.’

70. ‘He said potential members of the police and military had to meet certain requirements, such as being in good physical health and possessing a certain level of IQ.’

71. ‘He asked in a refined manner, though he possessed himself of my arm and seized me by the wrist, twisting me from the ground.’

72. ‘If we possess ourselves of this, we have at once a standpoint for the wider survey.’

73. ‘Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of my arm; and putting on a mask of black silk and drawing a roquelaire closely about my person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo.’

74. ‘He starts his remarks by hoping: ‘A more progressive generation of ornithologists will no doubt possess itself of higher standards for estimating the value of sub-species.’’

75. ‘But the Danish Viking relinquished his hold upon Bernicia and, moving south in the following year, possessed himself of the kingdom of York.’

76. ‘But there is simply no credible evidence to suggest the boy was possessed by demons or evil spirits.’

77. ‘One might as well tell the patient she is possessed by demons, as give her a psychoanalytic explanation of her physical disease or disorder.’

78. ‘Jane's belief that she was possessed by spirits had its origin in a session with a Ouija board when it began to glide under her fingers and spell out messages from the Great Beyond.’

79. ‘The white made him look as if he were possessed by some demon.’

80. ‘He thought he was possessed by spirits and that he was going to kill his own family.’

81. ‘Can a pharmacist refuse to fill a prescription because he or she believes the client is possessed by demons?’

82. ‘The dragon's spirit possessed this evil man's body, and morphed it into a vision similar to how his carcass looked when it was living, breathing.’

83. ‘Lara said that demons don't possess people for long periods of time.’

84. ‘It looked like it was dying but was kept alive only by the will of the demons possessing its mother.’

85. ‘A small boy is ostracized from his village, where they claim an evil spirit possesses him.’

86. ‘Michelle was staring at her with her mouth hanging open, ‘What demon ever possessed you to do such a thing?’’

87. ‘He tells us that he has met many people who have been possessed by demons, the most scary being a man who started to talk to him in a demon's voice.’

88. ‘The misconceptions include black magic, witchcraft, evil eye and being possessed by a spirit.’

89. ‘He's been possessed by spirits of the dead on numerous occasions.’

90. ‘Epileptics were supposedly possessed by spirits that threw them to the ground and tormented them with convulsions.’

91. ‘Once possessed by their celebrity demons, they become solitary, anti-social, impulsive and even self-destructive.’

92. ‘Her family thought she was possessed by evil spirits and buried her alive.’

93. ‘One young woman describes the pleasure of the trance she enters when possessed by the Holy Ghost.’

94. ‘Even the makers of commercial films appear to be possessed by this idea.’

95. ‘He was always possessed by the idea that they would get at him if they could, you know, they would poison the fillings in his teeth, so paranoia stemmed out very easily from him.’

96. ‘These thoughts possessed her mind as she slipped out of the Great Hall quietly and unnoticed.’

97. ‘Her chest heaved, as the fear still possessed her mind in its clutches as well as the guilt.’

98. ‘A feeling of loneliness possessed my whole being.’

99. ‘However it got there, the idea possessed her consciousness.’

100. ‘Yet, he also understood the fear possessing Indira.’

101. ‘For some it's love, others jealousy, others the need of power, others wonder, and finally there are those who's greed finally possesses them to kill themselves.’

102. ‘The prosecution is urged to go on a fast to purge itself of whatever bad thoughts possessed it to even bring this one to trial.’

103. ‘While the words ‘vegetarian’ and ‘haggis’ have never been made to rhyme the idea possesses me with a burning curiosity.’

104. ‘He charged down the sidewalk not slowing down; a spirit of determination and passion possessed his body sending it charging in the nearest phone booth.’

105. ‘He got into the face of men who were killing innocent people in whatever frenzied state of mind possessed them.’

106. ‘This anxious state of mind was what possessed me as I biked towards the river.’

107. ‘Do I ‘approve myself in all things as a minister of God; in much patience possessing my own soul,’ and having the government of my own spirit?’

108. ‘In order to freely possess oneself in such a system one must be free of dependence on the will of others.’

109. ‘He confessed that "I have possessed myself in patience, but I'm fast getting too old to have any future of importance in the Army."’

110. he possesses great knowledge about the Middle East