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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of possessive
And Doyle showed even more possessive behavior that C.C. found troubling.
—
Chris Young Ritzen, CBS News, 10 May 2025
The moon’s clash with Mars amplifies passions and possessive thoughts!
—Usa Today, USA Today, 11 May 2025
These include possessive apostrophes in clubs that are named after people or institutions — Newell’s Old Boys, for example, who got their name from Isaac Newell, an Englishman who was a pioneer of football in Argentina.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 1 May 2025
There was a woman next to me who was really possessive of the armrest.
—Matt Villano, AFAR Media, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possessive
Chris Young Ritzen, CBS News, 10 May 2025
The moon’s clash with Mars amplifies passions and possessive thoughts!
—Usa Today, USA Today, 11 May 2025
These include possessive apostrophes in clubs that are named after people or institutions — Newell’s Old Boys, for example, who got their name from Isaac Newell, an Englishman who was a pioneer of football in Argentina.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 1 May 2025
There was a woman next to me who was really possessive of the armrest.
—Matt Villano, AFAR Media, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possessive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for possessive
jealous
Adjective
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Some dogs may be jealous of the litter, while others who want to play may be too rough with them.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
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These two have always been uneasy allies, each jealous of the other’s relationship with Mikey, each convinced the other is somehow more comfortable among all the biological and adopted Berzattos, each incapable of giving a proper apology to the other one.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Possessive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/possessive. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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