unpossessed
- adjective
- /ʌnˈpɒsɛst/
- The abandoned house stood unpossessed, waiting for a new owner.
Examples
-
It was inspiring in a painful, anxiety-making way, the thought of that gold going unclaimed, unpossessed.
Fiction book (1995) -
In truth, we are the unpossessed, the unpossessable.
Fiction book (1991) -
The unpossessed nature of the land allowed wildlife to thrive without human interference.
-
After years of neglect, the unpossessed artwork in the gallery captured the attention of many visitors.
Synonyms
Not belonging to anyone
Not caught or recorded, for example by a camera
Antonyms
How Controlled
Surface Forms
Morphology
unpossessed = possessed (transparent) = un + possess + ed
The word is formed by adding the negative prefix 'un-' to 'possessed' (owned/controlled), an immediately clear derivation.
Etymology
Unpossessed is made from un- meaning 'not' and possessed, from an old word meaning 'to have' or 'own'. So land or things that are unpossessed are 'not owned' or 'not controlled' by anyone.