1077
possession
Po-sei-don /pə'saɪdn/ in Greek MYTHOLOGY, the god of the
sea. In Roman mythology his name is NEPTUNE.
pos·er /'pəʊzər/ n infml 1 a difficult or awkward question 2 a
matter that is awkward to deal with 3 derog especially BrE a
poseur
po·seur /pəʊ'zɜːr/ n derog someone who behaves unnaturally
or pretends to be cleverer, more artistic etc than they really
are, in order to attract attention or admiration -> compare
POSE
pos·ey /'pəʊzi/ adj infml of, or typical of, a poseur; PRETEN-
TIOUS: She disliked his posey remarks about how his work had
influenced modern art. | a posey wine bar
posh /pɒʃ||pɑːʃ/ adj infml, especially BrE 1 usually apprec fashion-
able, splendid, and usually expensive: a posh hotel 2 some-
times derog for or typical of people of high social class: a posh
part of town | a posh accent —posh adv BrE nonstandard: Doesn't
she talk posh!
pos·it /'pɒzɪt||'pɑː-/ v [T] fml to suggest for the purpose of
argument; POSTULATE
po·si·tion¹ /pə'zɪʃən/ n 1 [C] a place where someone or
something is or stands, especially in relation to other
objects, places etc: The castle occupies a strategic position
overlooking the valley. | This footballer usually plays in an
attacking position. | Can you find our position on this map? |
The army will attack the enemy's positions. (=places where
they have placed soldiers and guns) 2 [U] the place where
someone or something is supposed to be; the proper place:
The shelves are held in position by metal brackets. | The rocket
puts the satellite into position high above the Earth. | The
guard took up his position outside the hospital door: 3 [C] the
way in which someone or something is placed or moves,
stands, sits etc: He had to work in a most uncomfortable
position under the car. | in a sitting position 4 [C(in)] a
particular place or rank in an organization, competition etc:
She finished in second position in the race. | This sort of
scandal could be disastrous to a man in my position. (=of my
high rank in society) 5 [C usually sing.] a situation; state: It
was supposed to be secret; by telling everyone, you've put me in
a very difficult position. | In the company's present position,
they can't afford to offer higher wages. | [+to-v] I'd like to help
you, but I'm afraid I'm not in a position/I'm in no position to
do so. (=I can't) 6 [C(on)] an opinion or judgment on a matter;
ATTITUDE: What's your position on this question? | [+that] He
takes the position that what his sister does is no concern of
his. 7 [C(with, in)] fml a job; employment: to apply for a
position with/in an oil company | a position of responsibil-
ity 8 jockey/manoeuvre/jostle for position to compete
keenly in order to gain an advantage over others who are
trying to get the same thing as oneself: They knew the
director's job was going to become vacant soon, and they were
both jockeying for position. -> see JOB (USAGE)
Compare place, position and location. Place is
the ordinary word when talking about where something is
or happens: I'll show you the place where I was born.
Position is used to talk about the place where something
is or should be in relation to other places: He drew a plan
showing the position of all the furniture in the room.
Location is a formal or technical word for place or
position: The company has found a suitable location for
its new headquarters.
position² v [T+obj+adv/prep] to put in the stated position: He
positioned himself just by the window so he could see what
was going on outside.
po·si·tion·al /pə'zɪʃənəl/ adj concerning position, especially
(in sports) the position that a player takes up on the field:
The manager made some positional changes for the next game.
(=kept the same players, but they played in different posi-
tions)
pos·i·tive¹ /'pɒzətɪv||'pɑː-/ adj 1 [F(of, about)] (of a person)
having no doubt; sure: 'Are you sure?' 'Positive.' (=Yes, I am
sure.) | It seemed unlikely to me, but she seemed absolutely
positive of/about it. | [+(that)] Are you positive (that) you've
never seen that man before? 2 often apprec leading to practical
action; CONSTRUCTIVE: positive advice | positive think-
ing 3 showing confidence and hope: a positive attitude to
life 4 leaving no possibility of doubt; DEFINITE: It's no use
giving the police all these vague times and dates; they need
something positive to go on. | These fingerprints are positive
proof/proof positive that he used the gun. 5 [no comp.] (in
grammar) of the simple form of an adjective or adverb, which
expresses no COMPARISON: 'Good' is the positive form of the
adjective, 'better' is the comparative. -> compare COMPARA-
TIVE, SUPERLATIVE 6 [no comp.] (in MATHEMATICS) (of a
number or quantity) greater than zero: Twelve is a positive
amount. 7 [no comp.] (of electricity) of the type that is carried
by PROTONS 8 [no comp.] (of a photograph) having light and
dark as they are in nature, not the other way around 9 (of a
medical test) showing signs of the presence of a substance or
growth: The test was positive; you're pregnant! 10 [no comp.]
med having RHESUS FACTOR in the blood: RH-positive
blood 11 [A no comp.] (used for giving force to a noun)
complete; real: It was a positive delight to hear her sing.
-> opposite NEGATIVE (for 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) —ness n [U]
positive² n 1 (in grammar) the POSITIVE form of an adjective
or adverb: The positive of 'prettiest' is 'pretty'. 2 a POSITIVE
photograph
,positive discrimi'nation BrE || also affirmative action
AmE — n [U] the practice or principle of favouring people
who are often treated unfairly, especially because of their sex
or race -> compare REVERSE DISCRIMINATION
pos·i·tive·ly /'pɒzətvli||'pɑ-/ adv 1 in a POSITIVE¹ (1,4)
way, especially (as if) with certainty: He said quite positively
that he would come, and we were all surprised when he
didn't. 2 infml (used for adding force to an expression) really;
in fact: She's not just pretty, she's positively beautiful! 3 tech
in a POSITIVE way (especially in the phrase positively
charged)
,positive 'pole n 1 the end of a MAGNET which turns
naturally towards the Earth 2 an ANODE
,positive 'vetting n [U] in Britain, the practice of checking
certain government workers, before telling them official
secrets, to make sure that they are not working against the
state
pos·i·tiv·ism /'pɒzətɪvɪzəm||'pɑː-/ n [U] a PHILOSOPHY (=a
system of thought) based on real facts that can be experi-
enced and proved, rather than on ideas formed in the mind
—ist n
pos·i·tron /'pɒzɪtrɒn||'pɑːzɪtrɑːn/ n a very small piece of
matter (ELEMENTARY PARTICLE) that is like an ELECTRON but is
positively charged
poss. /pɒs||pɑːs/ 1 BrE infml abbrev. for possible: Do it by Mon-
day if poss. 2 written abbrev. for POSSESSIVE -> compare PASS.
pos·se /'pɒsi||pɑːsi/ also posse com·i·ta·tus /ˌpɒsi
kɒmɪ'teɪtəs||ˌpɑːsi kɑːmɪ-/ fml — n [(of)] (in the US) a group of
men gathered together by a SHERIFF (=local law officer) to
help find a criminal or keep order: (fig.) The film star was
pursued all over the country by a posse (=group) of reporters.
pos·sess /pə'zes/ v [T not in progressive forms] 1 fml to have as
one's property, as a quality etc; own: The police asked me if I
possessed a gun. 2 (of a feeling or idea) to influence (some-
one) so completely as to make them do especially some-
thing foolish: [+obj+to-v] I don't know what possessed him to
(=made him) drive so fast down that busy street.
pos·sessed /pə'zest/ adj 1 wildly mad, (as if) controlled by
an evil spirit: [after n] He was waving the knife and screaming
like a man possessed. 2 [F+of] fml or lit having: He's never been
possessed of (=had) much sense. -> see also SELF-POSSESSED
pos·ses·sion /pə'zeʃən/ n 1 [U(of)] the state of having,
holding, or owning something; ownership: Dangerous drugs
were found in her possession/She was found in possession
of dangerous drugs. | When her father died, she came into
possession of a large fortune. | While our team is in
possession/has possession (=has the ball) the other team
can't score. | The police arrested him and took possession of
certain substances found in his house. (=they took the sub-
stances from him) | (fml or pomp) According to facts in my
possession (=facts that I know about) he cannot possibly be
guilty. 2 [U(of)] especially law actual control and use: We've
bought the house, but we take/get possession (of it) before
July. 3 [C often pl.] a piece of personal property: The people
had to gather up their few possessions and escape to the
hills. 4 [C] a country controlled or governed by another:
Britain's former overseas possessions 5 [U] the condition of
being under the control of an evil spirit 6 possession is