different between possess vs contain
possess
English
Etymology
From Middle English possessen, from Old French possesser (“to possess”), from Latin possessus, past participle of posside?.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /p??z?s/
- Rhymes: -?s
Verb
possess (third-person singular simple present possesses, present participle possessing, simple past and past participle possessed)
- (transitive) To have; to have ownership of.
- (transitive) To take control of someone's body or mind, especially in a supernatural manner.
- (transitive, dated) Chiefly followed by of: to vest ownership in (someone or oneself); to give (someone) knowledge or power; to acquaint, to inform (someone).
Conjugation
Synonyms
- ((with of), to vest ownership): seise
- (qualities or characteristics): inhold
Translations
possess From the web:
- what possessed annabelle
- what possessed stiles
- what possessed you
- what possess anticodons
- what possessed you to do that
- what possessive mean
- what possessed the annabelle doll
- what possesses the motor cortex
contain
English
Etymology
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French contenir, from Latin continere (“to hold or keep together, comprise, contain”), combined form of con- (“together”) + tene? (“to hold”).
Pronunciation
- enPR: k?n-t?n?, IPA(key): /k?n?te?n/
- Rhymes: -e?n
- Hyphenation: con?tain
Verb
contain (third-person singular simple present contains, present participle containing, simple past and past participle contained)
- (transitive) To hold inside.
- (transitive) To include as a part.
- (transitive) To put constraint upon; to restrain; to confine; to keep within bounds.
- [The king's] only Person is oftentimes instead of an Army, to contain the unruly People from a thousand evil Occasions.
- (mathematics, of a set etc., transitive) To have as an element or subset.
- (obsolete, intransitive) To restrain desire; to live in continence or chastity.
- But if they cannot contain, let them marry.
Synonyms
- (hold inside): enclose, inhold
- (include as part): comprise, embody, incorporate, inhold
- (limit by restraint): control, curb, repress, restrain, restrict, stifle; See also Thesaurus:curb
Antonyms
- (include as part): exclude, omit
- (limit by restraint): release, vent
Usage notes
- This is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See Category:English stative verbs
Related terms
- container
- containable
- containment
- content
- continence
Translations
Further reading
- contain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- contain in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- contain at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- actinon, cantion
contain From the web:
- what contains gluten
- what contains vitamin d
- what contains dna
- what contains vitamin c
- what contains zinc
- what contains fiber
- what contains potassium
- what contains digestive enzymes
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