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
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
At the same time, they are known for being protective, territorial, and sometimes possessive or jealous.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Christy costars Ben Foster as Martin's manager-turned-husband James, initially depicted as loving and supportive (one shot shows Christy gleefully leaping into his arms after winning a match), but eventually revealed as possessive and dangerous.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Lepkowski described her cousin's ex as possessive, controlling and physically abusive.
—Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possessive
Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
At the same time, they are known for being protective, territorial, and sometimes possessive or jealous.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Christy costars Ben Foster as Martin's manager-turned-husband James, initially depicted as loving and supportive (one shot shows Christy gleefully leaping into his arms after winning a match), but eventually revealed as possessive and dangerous.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Lepkowski described her cousin's ex as possessive, controlling and physically abusive.
—Nushrat Rahman, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for possessive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for possessive
jealous
Adjective
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Neither a film noir femme fatale nor a jealous housewife, Sarah Trafford (Ruth Wilson) has come to Oxford Investigations for help in solving a mystery that has little to do with her own life.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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During an appearance on The Eli Manning Show in May 2024, Eli joked about feeling a bit jealous to hand over the character to Powell.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Possessive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/possessive. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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