1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

possessing

verb

present participle of possess
as in owning
to keep, control, or experience as one's own she possesses a keen insight into people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of possessing Fuentes is charged with receiving and possessing ransom money, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Sep. 2026 Derico Lowery, 31, was charged with first-degree murder and possessing a firearm as a felon in connection with the death of De’Tavion Marques Levi, 28, of Des Moines. — Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register, 11 Sep. 2026 Pennsylvania does not have a statewide law that broadly prohibits adults from possessing alcohol outdoors. — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026 Joshua Wasson, 25, of Jasper, pleaded guilty in Dubois Circuit Court to one Level 6 felony count of intimidation and misdemeanor charges of possessing marijuana and paraphernalia. — Casey Smith, IndyStar, 9 Sep. 2026 Kane and colleagues found that possessing an intimidating size wouldn't guarantee a Venusian moon's survival, either. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2026 Andre Duckett, a 39-year-old San Jose resident, was charged with murder and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon; he was previously convicted for statutory rape in Contra Costa County. — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026 He also was arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and burglary tools. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2026 Bates was sentenced to three consecutive life terms on charges of possessing the images, plus 40 years to be served concurrently on a charge of online solicitation of a minor, according to the statement. — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for possessing
  1. owning
  2. having
  3. retaining
  4. enjoying
Verb
  • And in The Uprising, basically every land-owning English person is an enemy of the peasants, who are overtaxed by King Richard II (Woody Norman) after the plague kills half of the country’s population.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The key to all this is to compete on the total cost of owning your house compared with a new one.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of owning
Verb
  • Fans know these characters so well already that remaining text accurate while also having artistic license could be difficult.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Constraints on the regional supply of natural gas leads to higher supply costs, which contribute to New England having higher electricity costs on average than the rest of the country.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of having
Verb
  • Singh is serious about his craft, thinking long and hard about how to create a sound that feels recognizably country while retaining a Punjabi folk soul.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Originally launched in 1990, this hiking shoe has been reinterpreted for the fall/winter 2026 season with a modernized construction while retaining its distinctive silhouette.
    — Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of retaining
Verb
  • Not even a tremendously good TikTok from Whitney Leavitt could save her husband from elimination when facing the late-night-TV-enjoying population.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Faisal Bashir | Lightrocket | Getty Images BEIJING — China's artificial intelligence models may be enjoying rapid adoption but that isn't yet translating into revenue, raising questions about company valuations.
    — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of enjoying

Browse Nearby Words

possesses
possessing
possession
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Possessing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/possessing. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All