verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
already
▪ But they already possess the scheduling, communications, decision-making, oversight, and reporting skills needed.
▪ Many offices, on the other hand, already possess fast data networks.
▪ Traditional managerial approaches do not work because they assume that most people already possess most of the capabilities required for performance.
▪ It gives additional information which can be used as experience grows and by those who already possess some knowledge of Homoeopathy.
▪ Job candidates who already possess these computer skills may be preferred over those who need to be trained.
▪ Inheritance therefore benefits those who already possess substantial capital assets.
▪ Thinking to save money, I laid the claim that we already possessed a Trojan Horse fragment of our own.
also
▪ The Chedworth mosaic also possesses an outer border of continuous swastika meander.
▪ They are plants of the most varied appearance, and they also possess either a bulb or tubercle.
▪ It is curious, too, to note that echidnas also possess spurs but their venom gland is non-functional.
▪ They were much heavier and harder to maintain than tracks but also possessed much stouter defensive armor and greater firepower.
▪ You will also possess a large amount of information.
▪ But the Fool also possesses a darker side to his character, a touch of Lucifer as well as Gabriel.
▪ They also possess more subtle powers of political pressure and the use of persuasion.
▪ The attendants of Naga Royalty also possess only one head.
still
▪ The outer provinces still possessed immense stretches where atomic power had not yet been re-introduced.
▪ While the Macintosh still possess all the benefits it seems, to a casual observer, to be an incompatible system.
▪ In marriage, it is declared, one is still possessed of reason.
▪ Although the voluntary sector still possesses a relative production cost advantage over the commercial sector, this advantage is narrowing.
■ NOUN
ability
▪ Human beings possess the ability to experience subjectively the objects in their environment and themselves as an object in it.
▪ Young Joe possessed minimal athletic ability and was developing into an overweight child.
▪ Films possess the ability to convey both motion and colour.
▪ And few are more humorous, possessing the ability to be simultaneously self-deprecating and boastful.
▪ The latter is really reserved for those highly skilled golfers who possess the necessary shot-making ability.
▪ One of the few skills I possess is the ability to type with ten fingers.
▪ These animals possess the remarkable ability to withstand intense heat and drought for prolonged periods of time.
▪ There were also ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, and it possessed the ability to lay up to 240 mines.
characteristic
▪ Sport can possess the characteristic of a capital good, one that yields a return as part of a market production process.
▪ Sentimental comedy possesses several characteristics that are incompatible with the classic concept of tragedy and the tragic hero.
▪ The theory states that individuals possess certain characteristics so that they are predisposed to act in a certain way within a given situation.
▪ For a novel writer who may possess individual writing characteristics, unknown to the handwriting recogniser, performance can be low.
▪ They are buildings of the Romanesque or Gothic periods and possess strong Byzantine characteristics.
▪ What explanatory surveys require are cases which possess characteristics relevant to the problem of the research.
▪ Assets are imperfect substitutes because they possess different characteristics with respect to liquidity, marketability and profitability.
▪ The simplest creatures to possess these physical characteristics are the jellyfish and their relatives.
degree
▪ Maybe I lacked confidence - I didn't consider I possessed the degree of presence you need as the vital link-man.
▪ He has received the advantage of a liberal education, and possesses a very extensive degree of legal knowledge.
▪ Fortunately for us all, those skills are possessed to a considerable degree by police officers of every rank.
▪ But now, Greenspan alone possesses the degree of influence that can send international markets lurching downward.
▪ To achieve any measure of integration requires a confidence and a breadth of understanding which teachers possess in varying degrees.
▪ Worsley claimed to possess a degree from Trinity College.
▪ Numerous reasons possessing varying degrees of persuasiveness are advanced.
▪ Firstly, a research programme should possess a degree of coherence that involves the mapping out of a definite programme for future research.
devil
▪ She told him then, unable to help herself: he was possessed by devils.
▪ Instead, she said, Ells told her she was possessed by devils.
▪ Why the Story was Remembered A poor man believed himself to be possessed by many devils.
▪ Instead of praise, she was told she was possessed by the devil.
▪ If he were possessed by devils, Kate thought, it would be a simple explanation.
information
▪ Did Mills possess such prized information?
▪ The good news is that anyone who possesses information and learning skills is likely to find a job, old-boy networks not withstanding.
▪ In practice, firms do not normally possess accurate information about the demand curves for their product.
knowledge
▪ The knowledge they possessed was critical to the success of the enterprise.
▪ This is true even though they bring to the search the knowledge they already possess about how spoken language works.
▪ And then it made him somewhat fearful, the thought that he alone should possess this knowledge.
▪ Our quality of mind and emotion is more important than the clothes we wear or the knowledge we possess.
▪ Matilda would be sure that any knowledge Isabel possessed was safe as long as Edmund lived.
man
▪ People who were infected by them immediately became as men possessed ad out of their minds.
▪ The men possessed only the barest minimum necessary for survival.
▪ That man possessed an absolutely deadly charm - a charm that could make a prisoner of the most stalwart heart.
▪ You want tales of a man possessed?
▪ Furthermore, as spiritual men who now possessed a knowledge of these mysteries, they judged Paul unworthy.
▪ He had missed his chance to kill the man and possess Polly, have her for his own.
▪ When looking directly ahead, man possesses only 180° vision.
power
▪ It is not, as some people still believe, an almost magical power possessed by just a few.
▪ None of us thought of the power she possessed.
▪ The only governmental power the Commission possesses is the power to make law; and it is not the Congress.
▪ And then, it seemed to him, some power possessed her for she too hissed and struck out at him.
▪ It was as if his neighbor poured every power she possessed into it.
▪ Oh, what a power I possess!
▪ Regardless of how high you are in the corporation and how much power you possess, you can lose it overnight.
property
▪ Mercury was believed to possess magical properties and some regarded it as the quintessence of the human body and of all substances.
▪ Later we find many other magical properties that these complex numbers possess, properties that we had no inkling about at first.
▪ Surfaces possessing this property are called gnomic surfaces.
▪ An extract from the bark of the conifer Pinus Pinnaster has been found to possess exceptional anti-oxidant properties.
▪ He possesses non-physical properties and energies that are still largely unknown and uncharted by traditional science.
▪ Regulatory deviance rarely possesses the emotive properties of many traditional crimes.
▪ Nevertheless, taken on balance, if you possess unpleasant chemical properties, it pays to advertise.
▪ This feature is called the Markov property and a sequence of observations possessing this property is called a Markov chain.
quality
▪ Stainforth's success rests on three qualities he possesses in abundance.
▪ Understanding is the most prized quality we can ever possess.
▪ Finally, the citizen must, if true to his quality, be possessed of some civic virtue.
▪ There is a glorification of virtue, a the most praiseworthy quality one can possess.
▪ One quality Oxford possessed in abundance, though, was spirit, which enabled them to claw their way back.
▪ What is the non-animal quality which men possess which other animals do not possess?
sense
▪ His brilliance was carried lightly, and he possessed a wry sense of humour.
▪ That could not have been the expression of anyone possessed of his senses who was present at the sessions in Hovde House.
▪ He possesses plain good sense, and is in the full confidence of his Countrymen.
▪ He possessed no sense of reverence for the giant fish and wanted to kill them all without Understanding his primitive motivation.
skill
▪ She'd never have suspected the Viking of possessing culinary skills.
▪ Similarly, it is possible for individuals to possess weak skills in reading or math while also being work-inhibited.
▪ It is important to remember that labour is heterogeneous in the sense that different workers possess different skills and abilities.
▪ Counselors within school systems and psychotherapist5 in the community possess the knowledge and skills to assist students, parents, and teachers.
▪ Individuals who possess certain skills may also find their power diminished if those skills are made redundant by developments in new technology.
▪ The good news is that anyone who possesses information and learning skills is likely to find a job, old-boy networks not withstanding.
▪ Similarly, professional groups possessing key skills can often rely on employers' dependence upon them.
▪ Both of them possessed the practical skills of ropework and carpentry to look after the raft properly and to teach the others.
spirit
▪ Shakespeare's poet is in a frenzy, possessed by the spirit of artistic creation.
▪ Certainly if Herrera had any fault it was in not possessing a dominating spirit.
▪ Creed, as we know, does not possess the stoutest of spirits.
▪ Some senior men from the Nyoongar people supported her, believing that she was possessed by the spirit of an Aboriginal artist.
▪ Never have I seen Fincara's magic so possess anyone's spirit - flee from him, mortal!
▪ When they become possessed by their spirits, these demure, purdah-confined ladies undergo a remarkable change.
strength
▪ Some one possessing special strength or skill attacks and kills the monster or drives him away.
▪ The exhilaration comes I suppose from possessing such strength.
▪ They possess enormous strength and enjoy tormenting sailors.
▪ You need to possess a tremendous mental strength to withstand the rigours of rowing.
weapon
▪ Bourgois pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning Miss Lamplugh and possessing an offensive weapon.
▪ More than a score of nations now seeks or possesses chemical weapons.
▪ Thirty-three people were charged with drug offences, the other 18 with possessing offensive, weapons and offensive behaviour.
▪ I was charged with three different offences; assault, criminal damage and possessing an offensive weapon.
▪ He is also accused of possessing an offensive weapon - a large lump hammer - and affray.
▪ Your mission is to boldly go about the galaxy destroying the Klingon forces which possess many new tactical weapons and abilities.
■ VERB
believe
▪ Mercury was believed to possess magical properties and some regarded it as the quintessence of the human body and of all substances.
▪ They appealed to the selfless moral and ethical standards we like to believe we possess.
▪ Some senior men from the Nyoongar people supported her, believing that she was possessed by the spirit of an Aboriginal artist.
▪ They believe people can be possessed by demons, and that their role is to rid the world of such demons.
seem
▪ The story seems to possess me.
▪ Each seemed possessed by a serene sorrow, and in a moment he learned why.
▪ Most of the boys seemed to possess a squash racquet.
▪ On the last day of class Anton seemed possessed by some private fury.
▪ Boris seemed to possess both talents.
▪ Shepperson seems possessed, brilliant, eloquent.
▪ Rather, like insects, they are annoyances except when they seem to possess such overwhelming numbers.
▪ Even when silent he seemed to possess a new calculating intelligence.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be possessed of sth
▪ He felt possessed of great strength and fearlessness.
▪ Finally, the citizen must, if true to his quality, be possessed of some civic virtue.
▪ For Pan-dora, like all women, was possessed of a lively curiosity.
▪ Let us assume that the entire being is possessed of 1, 000 arbitrary units of life force.
▪ Sarah Stitt is possessed of the same huge eyes that she likes to paint in her huge-eyed portraits.
▪ She was possessed of a wryness toward things around her that was endearing.
▪ The President is possessed of a philosophical agenda based on a lifetime of experience and thought.
▪ To my contemporaries then at this time, a helmet was possessed of immense symbolic importance.
▪ Unlike Tyron, Mr Nagasyu was possessed of a degree of style and sophistication.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ A sense of fear possessed him as he walked into the old house.
▪ Because of his gambling, he lost everything he possessed.
▪ Hamly admitted illegally possessing a handgun.
▪ He possessed an unusual ability to learn languages quickly.
▪ He never wore a suit - I don't think he possessed one.
▪ Jo believed that demons possessed her.
▪ Like all towns and villages on Trinidad, it possessed a cricket ground.
▪ The caller claimed to possess valuable information about the boy's whereabouts.
▪ The Church possesses a bone from the saint's leg.
▪ The number of nations that possess nuclear weapons has risen.
▪ The Western Highlands possess a beauty and a majesty found nowhere else in Britain.
▪ Too many nations already possess chemical weapons.
▪ Very few families in this area possess a telephone.
▪ Zorna is said to possess miraculous healing powers.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But with only two characters you can't hope to control everything, or claim to possess every solution.
▪ If a child is learning at grade level, by definition he or she must possess reasonably good intellectual abilities.
▪ Japetus alone possessed a distinctive geography, and a very strange one indeed.
▪ Let us assume that the entire being is possessed of 1, 000 arbitrary units of life force.
▪ Lipatti s performance possesses a clarity of articulation, a depth of sonority and an energy that shine through the crackly recording.
▪ The rhetorical theorist does not assume that only some societies possess the rhetorical capacity to argue.