the possessive

noun

grammar
: the form of a word that shows possession or belonging
The possessive of "it" is "its."

Examples of the possessive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Specifically, the divisions are about how to use apostrophes when writing about the candidates in the possessive. Mike Allen, Axios, 14 Aug. 2024 This endowed it with a special aura of intimacy, visible in the possessive language that U.S. officials used when referring to Mobutu. Stephen R. Weissman, Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2014 Like Kincaid and Dungy, Rush exposes the possessive and often violent traditions of naming the natural world. Emily Raboteau, The New York Review of Books, 1 Nov. 2020 But focus instead on that apostrophe in the title: This is Hopper’s New York, emphasis on the possessive, and for all its crowd-pleasing fare this is a more challenging show about his dominion over the city. Karen Rosenberg, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2022

Dictionary Entries Near the possessive

Cite this Entry

“The possessive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20possessive. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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