as in materialism
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Recent Examples of possessiveness
This can trigger jealousy, possessiveness, taboo-like attractions, emotional ultimatums, social power plays or money issues that reveal deeper conflicts.
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Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
17 June 2026
Shot in Scope, filled with intimate closeups of the couple, the film lets the audience experience the same upsetting jolt as Gil over Jacques’ desire for control and toxic possessiveness.
—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Ménochet is a scary wonder as Marc, a great bear of a man who is chillingly adept at hiding his rage and possessiveness under the guise of a gentle, enlightened ascetic.
—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Guilt, jealousy or over-possessiveness might take hold of you.
—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Carmen grows tired of Don José’s possessiveness and returns to Seville alone to reunite with her lover Escamillo, the bullfighter.
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Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
In the film, Brack’s attraction to Hedda, investment in her material future, and his familiarity with her father are all underlined, and by the end feel like a mounting pressure of desire and possessiveness directed at her.
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Rory Doherty,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
Wright is magnetic, walking a fine line between maternal concern and suffocating possessiveness.
—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
There’s a certain irony in China’s possessiveness over its Labubu IP.
—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
24 Aug. 2025
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
17 June 2026
Shot in Scope, filled with intimate closeups of the couple, the film lets the audience experience the same upsetting jolt as Gil over Jacques’ desire for control and toxic possessiveness.
—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Ménochet is a scary wonder as Marc, a great bear of a man who is chillingly adept at hiding his rage and possessiveness under the guise of a gentle, enlightened ascetic.
—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Guilt, jealousy or over-possessiveness might take hold of you.
—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Carmen grows tired of Don José’s possessiveness and returns to Seville alone to reunite with her lover Escamillo, the bullfighter.
—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2026
In the film, Brack’s attraction to Hedda, investment in her material future, and his familiarity with her father are all underlined, and by the end feel like a mounting pressure of desire and possessiveness directed at her.
—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
Wright is magnetic, walking a fine line between maternal concern and suffocating possessiveness.
—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
There’s a certain irony in China’s possessiveness over its Labubu IP.
—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for possessiveness
Noun
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But Veda is no idealist out to end wars or reject her parents’ materialism.
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Because materialism had an irreligious connotation, Hattem says it was left out of the national conversation until the Gilded Age of the 1920s, when people start saying the quiet part out loud.
Noun
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Many critics of such wanton cosmic acquisitiveness balk at the idea of scarcely regulated private-sector lunar strip-mining.
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Following too closely in its protagonist’s footsteps, The Queen of Versailles presents only two options — tough but spiritually fulfilling material deprivation or unconstrained acquisitiveness.
Noun
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Released at the tail end of Reaganomics, Carpenter’s most politically forward thriller now feels like a decoder ring for ’80s-era greed, detachment, complacency and ruthlessness.
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Does this show reveal more to me how the most vulnerable amongst us are suffering as a result of disinterest, apathy, greed?
Noun
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The theory here is that avarice and ambition can best be defeated by means of somebody else’s avarice and ambition; power’s inevitable corrupting effect is thereby mitigated or delayed.
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And the forces that contributed to their demise — avarice, ignorance and a lack of imagination — are ascendant, illustrated by plans for a five-story Rolex shop on Las Olas and the Gekko district being built in downtown West Palm Beach.
Noun
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While commercialism exists, the authentic human connection ignited by shared emotions, like a goal celebration, represents the Cup's most enduring and invaluable legacy, transcending mere competition.
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That’s not to say that Davis solely chased commercialism at the expense of art.
Noun
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People in the comments shared in the woman’s frustration, agreeing that her mother's greediness needs to be addressed.
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When kids didn’t withdraw, it was sometimes seen as greediness.
Noun
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The French—and, later, Anglo (Wilde, Beardsley, Rossetti)—attitude, mannered and morbid, was perhaps too Old World, at odds with our cheerful, Protestant rapacity.
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Unlike the specialized literary magazine and its informal cousin, the literary blog, the general-interest newspaper has a kind of noble rapacity, an encyclopedic ambition to wrap its arms around the whole of the world.
Noun
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Simple fasting from food can be ruined — rendered not pleasing to Allah — if spoiled by telling lies, slander, denouncing someone behind his back, swearing a false oath, greed or covetousness.
Cite this Entry
“Possessiveness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/possessiveness. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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