possession

noun

pə-ˈze-shən How to pronounce possession (audio)
Definition of possessionnext
1
as in hands
the fact or state of having (something) at one's disposal a student who was found to have several overdue library books in his possession

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in belongings
possessions plural transportable items that one owns we packed up all of our possessions and excitedly moved into a new house

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in occupancy
the act or fact of residing in a place squatters had established possession in the abandoned warehouse

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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 possession Spencerel was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, police said. — Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026 In February of that year, he was arrested on a handgun possession charge and was granted pretrial release. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Ortega had additionally been sentenced, in September 2025, for in-prison possession and manufacture of a deadly weapon, according to the news release. — Michael McGough, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026 The Duchess was always keen to have some very good reason for the jewels that were in her possession. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for possession
Recent Examples of Synonyms for possession
  1. hands
  2. belongings
  3. occupancy
  4. enjoyment
  5. things
  6. occupation
  7. stuff
  8. habitation
Noun
  • In Guadagnino’s hands, Artificial zooms in on the interpersonal relationships that have global reverberations.
    — E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Some shots dwell on the band member’s hands working their instruments.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of hands
Noun
  • Records show the school was billed $2,170—a relative pittance in the grand scheme of things—for a six-man crew from a local moving company to box up and relocate Moore’s belongings during the 43-hour window of his incarceration.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In Gulf Shores, an Alabama community encouraging voluntary evacuations, resident Maranie Adams gathered water and other supplies as her family moved belongings, including a hot tub motor, to higher ground.
    — R.j. Rico, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of belongings
Noun
  • Use a long, slender trowel to dig a single-occupancy hole, or dig a wide hole to plant a group of bulbs.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Just that morning, a City of Durham Fire Department inspector had visited the brewery and provided Ponysaurus with a fresh business occupancy inspection.
    — Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of occupancy
Noun
  • They were found to sharply increase how long people continued to engage, but often for reasons of anger and curiosity, rather than enjoyment.
    — Pascal Vrticka, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Richardson discusses how his early fascination with science and his enjoyment of science fiction has influenced his poetry and considers the way his aphorisms counterbalance his more lyric poems.
    — Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of enjoyment
Noun
  • After things go awry in the Congo, the family in The Poisonwood Bible dissolves readily.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In some ways, things have changed considerably for Reid over the last year after the television adaptation of her 2019 novel, Heated Rivalry, became a cultural phenomena.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of things
Noun
  • Depending on the record, that can include your name, mailing address, employer, occupation, donation amount and the political committee that received your money.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In fact, the researchers found churn across occupations has continued along pre-AI trends.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of occupation
Noun
  • A lot of the Hamilton stuff is quite emotional and deeply meaningful to the greater themes of the book.
    — Max Gao, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026
  • There's a lot of places where, not just the immigration message, but just what stuff costs.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of stuff
Noun
  • Italy’s commitment to build a habitation module and Japan’s contribution of a pressurized rover offer something new to NASA, which didn’t have contracts with US companies to do that work.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Many Gazans have remained in homes now unsafe for habitation.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of habitation

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possessing
possession
possessionless
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Cite this Entry

“Possession.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/possession. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on possession

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about possession

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