possessed
Syllables: pos·sessed/pəˈzɛst/
possessed is the simple past and past participle of possess.
Adjective
possessed (comparative more possessed, superlative most possessed)
- Controlled by evil spirits.
- He was exorcised because he was thought to be possessed by the Devil.
- Three days remained till Beltane's E'en, and throughout this time it was noted that Heriotside behaved like one possessed. It may be that his conscience pricked him, or that he had a glimpse of his sin and its coming punishment.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
- Seized by powerful emotions.
- O what ridiculous Reſolutions Men take, when poſſeſs'd with Fear! It deprives them of the Uſe of thoſe Means which Reaſon offers for their Relief.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 188
- Having; owning.
- The president was possessed of great wealth.
- It is said that every life has its roses and thorns; there seemed, however, to have been a misadventure or mistake in Stephen's case, whereby somebody else had become possessed of his roses, and he had become possessed of the same somebody else's thorns in addition to his own.1854, Charles Dickens, “Stephen Blackpool”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC, 1st book (Sowing), page 75
Meaning of possess
Verb
possess (third-person singular simple present possesses, present participle possessing, simple past and past participle possessed)
- To have (something) as, or as if as, an owner; to have, to own.
- He does not even possess a working telephone.
- Synonyms:
- inhold
- Of an idea, thought, etc.: to dominate (someone's mind); to strongly influence.
- I am poſſeſt with an adulterate blot, / My bloud is mingled with the crime of luſt: […]c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- Of a supernatural entity, especially one regarded as evil: to take control of (an animal or person's body or mind).
- They thought he was possessed by evil spirits.
- Of a person: to control or dominate (oneself or someone, or one's own or someone's heart, mind, etc.).
- Resolving to possess myself in some quiet if it might be, in a time of so great jealosy, I built by my Brother's permission a study, made a fishpond, an island, and some other solitudes and retirements, at Wotton, which gave the first occasion of improving them to those water-works and gardens...1643 May 11 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 2 May 1643]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I...
- To dominate (a person) sexually; to have sexual intercourse with (a person).
- Now tell me how long you would haue her, after you haue poſſeſt her?c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- To cause an idea, thought, etc., to strongly affect or influence (someone); to inspire, to preoccupy.
- What on earth possessed you to go walking by the quarry at midnight?
Forms of possessed
| comparative | more possessed |
|---|---|
| superlative | most possessed |
Words formed from possessed
Phrases with possessed
Words that rhyme with possessed
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- attest
- guest
- quest
- bequest
- distressed
- pest
- prest
- request
- revest
- west
- wrest
- zest
- contest
- depressed
- dressed
- gest
- impressed
- jest
- suggest
- acid test
- best
- celeste
- divest
- ingest
- molest
- North West
- northwest
- pressed
- professed
- southwest
- -cest
- addressed
- behest
- compressed
- congest
- detest
- fest
- infest
- lest
- obsessed
- pretest
- processed
- repressed
- rest.
- stressed
- tressed
- unrest
- unstressed
Questions about possessed
- What does possessed mean?
- Possessed means controlled by evil spirits.
- What is possessed the simple past and past participle of?
- Possessed is the simple past and past participle of possess.
- What part of speech is possessed?
- Possessed is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce possessed?
- Possessed is pronounced /pəˈzɛst/.
Words near possessed in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: possessed (page history and authors); possess (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-possessed.ogg.
Cite this entry: “possessed.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/possessed. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.