as in jealous
intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness
he was very possessive of his girlfriend's attention, and it was really starting to annoy her
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Recent Examples of possessive
Not possessive — possessive and addictive type personality.
—
Joey Garrison, USA Today, 16 Dec. 2025
The film follows Ren, a 16-year-old Filipino-Italian teenager trapped in his mother Mia’s possessive love, who must break free during a three-day Filipino wake as Typhoon Edith approaches Manila.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
Some will even feel possessive.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
That possessive, wide eyed desire is just one of the aspects that took Jane Birkin from a young British ingenue to a beloved — and extremely famous — fixture of French culture.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possessive
Joey Garrison, USA Today, 16 Dec. 2025
The film follows Ren, a 16-year-old Filipino-Italian teenager trapped in his mother Mia’s possessive love, who must break free during a three-day Filipino wake as Typhoon Edith approaches Manila.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
Some will even feel possessive.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
That possessive, wide eyed desire is just one of the aspects that took Jane Birkin from a young British ingenue to a beloved — and extremely famous — fixture of French culture.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possessive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for possessive
jealous
Adjective
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Trump has always been jealous of Obama, especially because Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump talks about constantly but will never achieve.—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Feb. 2026
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Sanders added that Payne was jealous of the woman's new relationship.—
Quinlan Bentley,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Possessive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/possessive. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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