possessed

like a man/woman possessed

With such fierce intensity, energy, or enthusiasm that it seems to be out of one's control. After a punishing first round, the underdog has come out in the second round like a woman possessed. Knowing that his in-laws would be arriving soon, Mike started cleaning the house like a man possessed.
See also: like, man, possessed, woman

like a person possessed

With such fierce intensity, energy, or enthusiasm that it seems to be out of someone's control. After a punishing first round, the underdog boxer has come out fighting in the second round like a person possessed. Knowing that his in-laws would be arriving soon, Mike started cleaning the house like a person possessed.
See also: like, person, possessed

like someone possessed

With such fierce intensity, energy, or enthusiasm that it seems to be out of someone's control. After a punishing first round, the underdog boxer has come out fighting in the second round like someone possessed. Knowing that his in-laws would be arriving soon, Mike started cleaning the house like someone possessed.
See also: like, possessed, someone

possessed by (something)

Obsessively motivated or driven by something. He has always been possessed by a need to be the center of attention, which is why he is playing those stupid pranks all the time. Because he grew up in such poverty, my father was possessed by a desire to be wealthy.
See also: by, possessed

possessed of (something)

In or having possession of something. Affidavits signed by the defendant affirm that he was possessed of all items listed in the police report at the time of his arrest. Successful applicants will be possessed of excellent communication skills and professional conduct.
See also: of, possessed

What possessed (someone) to (do something)?

Why would someone do something so reckless, foolish, or dangerous? What possessed you to participate in a road race? You could have gotten yourself killed! What possessed them to discontinue such a popular product? They were selling like hotcakes!
See also: possessed, what
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*possessed by something

obsessed or driven by something. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) Ned was possessed by a desire to become the best at everything he did. Jan acts as if she is possessed by the need to be right all the time.
See also: by, possessed

*possessed of something

having something; possessing something. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) She is possessed of a large amount of money. Todd wishes he were possessed of a large car and a fine house.
See also: of, possessed
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

possessed by

Driven by, obsessed with, as in He was possessed by the idea of becoming a millionaire. This idiom employs possess in the sense of "dominate one's thoughts or ideas," a usage dating from the late 1500s.
See also: by, possessed
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

like someone possessed

very violently or wildly, as if under the control of an evil spirit.
See also: like, possessed, someone
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

like a man/woman posˈsessed

,

like one posˈsessed

with a lot of force or energy: He flew out of the room like a man possessed.
See also: like, man, possessed, woman

what(ever) posˈsessed somebody to do something?

used to ask why somebody did something bad, stupid, unexpected, etc: ‘She drove straight to the airport and got on the first plane.’ ‘What possessed her to do that?’This phrase refers to the belief that people can be controlled (‘possessed’) by an evil spirit.
See also: possessed, somebody, what
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • like a man/woman possessed
  • like a person possessed
  • like someone possessed
  • lose (one's) spirit
  • take the law into (one's) own hands
  • take the law into one's hands
  • take the law into own hands
  • take the law into your own hands
  • give it large
  • large it
References in periodicals archive
Upon searching his vehicle, we seized marijuana that the suspect claimed to have possessed for his personal consumption.
Man accused of planting poppy seeds at home
And Christopher Hotten, prosecuting, said he claimed he had again been possessed at Birmingham Coroner's Court as the case of his 21-year-old wife's death was heard.
Accused was 'possessed', court hears
Fr Amorth wrote: "Simply the presence of the Pope can soothe and in some way help the possessed in their fight against the one who possesses them."
'Exorcism performed by the Pope' VATICAN
Possessed will air on the Horror Channel sometime in 2006.
Action!
IF THE DEMON possessed are distinct from the devil-inhabited by the power of the will, then the demon sufferers might be separated from the rest of the distressed souls who came to Jesus by their intent as well.
Whatever possessed us? We all have our inner demons to face, it's just that some are more obvious than others
In spite of the fact that the Native peoples once possessed religious beliefs formed over many centuries, 46 percent of Native peoples are Roman Catholic, 18% Anglican, 10% United Church of Canada and a further 8% are divided among other Christian faiths.
Native peoples of Canada strangers in their own land?
Shirin Neshat's luminous black-and-white video Possessed, 2001, which lent the show its title, depicts--to the accompaniment of Sussan Deyhim's soaring, mournful sound track--a lovely, wildeyed woman muttering to herself, whispering into cracks in walls, and stirring up trouble in a town square.
"Possessed": Western Bridge
The last component of the knowledge audit is to link the knowledge assets possessed by the organization with the overall mission, competitive strategies and core capabilities of the organization.
Securing knowledge assets: how safe is your knowledge?
Each crimped polyester fiber possesses a tensile strenght about the same as the tensile factor possessed by an otherwise identical uncrimped polyester fiber.
Polyester fiber tow having substantially uniform primary and secondary crimps
(25) The second longest list belonged to Francesco Cacino, canon of the collegiate church of Omegna, who in 1646 possessed almost 250 books, one hundred secular in nature.
From Cicero to Tasso: Humanism and the Education of the Novarese Parish Clergy (1565-1663) *
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 succeeded only because the Russian people never possessed a tradition of freedom.
America's Layers of Strength. (At a Glance)
"Being possessed," he explains, is more than a necessary doubling or inscribed 'otherness' of the con-scripted (those who come, as necessity, with writing).
Possessing the Self: Caribbean Identities in Zora Neale Hurston's Tell My Horse
State and federal statutes prohibiting the possession of contraband, such as illegal drugs, require the government to prove that the possessor knowingly possessed the contraband.
Proving Guilty Knowledge
At the same time, she claims, Russia possessed a commercial-industrial elite coherent enough to "successfully [influence] policy" and exhibit "cultural sophistication and civic involvement" as early as the late eighteenth century (pp.
Social Identity in Imperial Russia
The inmate did not contest that he possessed these objects but told his supervisor that he had intended to give them to his supervisors privately rather than in view of other inmates.
U.S. Appeals Court: CONTRABAND