unpossessingadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnpəˈzɛsɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌənpəˈzɛsɪŋ/ That has no possessions. Also: that does not possess something or someone.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > non-possession > [adjective]
unpossessed1576
unpossessing1608
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vi. 67 Thou vnpossessing Bastard, dost thou thinke [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
a1783 H. Brooke Poet. Wks. (1792) III. 109 O! to the souls of unpossessing slaves No loss can come.
1888 E. Nesbit Leaves of Life 39 You may nestle in my breast Sated but unsatisfied, Unpossessing, unpossessed.
a1988 F. Ewen Half-cent. Greatness (2007) v. ii. 435 The boy is given the single name of Heathcliff and no Christian first name, as if to underline his role in life—the unpossessed and the unpossessing outsider.
2005 P. Weinstein Unknowing vii. 185 He is in and out of all these others, possessed by them yet unpossessing.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1608- five wits
- five-a-side
- five-acre
- five-act
- five-and-dime store
- five-and-ten
- five-bar
- five-barred
- five-beaded
- five-boater
- five-branched
- five-card
- five-card draw
- five-card stud
- five-cards
- five-corner
- five-cornered
- five-day
- five-day week
- five-double
- five-dry-mouthed widow
- five-eighth
- five-eighths
- five-figure
- five-finger