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Definition of possessive adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

possessive

adjective
 
/pəˈzesɪv/
 
/pəˈzesɪv/
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  1. possessive (of/about somebody/something) demanding total attention or love; not wanting somebody to be independent
    • Some parents are too possessive of their children.
    Extra Examples
    • Loretta's starting to get possessive and jealous.
    • She had always been possessive of her brother.
    • his fiercely possessive love for her
    Topics Personal qualitiesc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • become
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • about
    • of
    See full entry
  2. possessive (of/about something) not liking to lend things or share things with others
    • Jimmy's very possessive about his toys.
    • Why should he feel so possessive about some old photos?
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • become
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    preposition
    • about
    • of
    See full entry
  3. [usually before noun] (grammar) showing that something belongs to somebody/something
    • possessive pronouns (= yours, theirs, etc.)
    Topics Languagea2
See possessive in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee possessive in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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