possess
[verb]
Synonyms:
- have, enjoy, hold, own
- control, acquire, dominate, hold, occupy, seize, take over

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English Thesaurus: own, have, possess, belong to somebody/something, hold, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

pos‧sess W3 /pəˈzes/ verb [transitive not in progressive]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: possesser, from Latin possidere]

1. formal to have a particular quality or ability:
Different workers possess different skills.
He no longer possessed the power to frighten her.

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In everyday English, people usually say that someone has or has got something rather than possesses it:
They all have different skills.

2. formal or law to have or own something:
Neither of them possessed a credit card.
Campbell was found guilty of possessing heroin.

3. what possessed somebody (to do something)? spoken used to say that you cannot understand why someone did something stupid:
What on earth possessed her to do it?

4. literary if a feeling possesses you, you suddenly feel it very strongly and it affects your behaviour:
A mad rage possessed her.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

own if you own something, it legally belongs to you:
They live in a flat but they don’t own it.
The land is owned by farmers.
a privately owned plane
have [not in passive] to own something – used when focussing on the fact that someone has the use of something, rather than the fact that they legally own it:
How many students have a cell phone?
I wish I had a sports car.
possess [not in passive] formal to own something:
It is illegal to possess a firearm in Britain.
I don’t even possess a smart suit!
belong to somebody/something [not in passive] if something belongs to you, you own it:
The ring belonged to my grandmother.
hold to own shares in a company:
One man holds a third of the company’s shares.
be the property of somebody/something formal to be owned by someone – written on signs, labels etc:
This camera is the property of the BBC.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲