Dominance saint possesses (5)

I believe the answer is:

holds

'possesses' is the definition.

'dominance saint' is the wordplay.
'dominance' becomes 'hold'.
'saint' becomes 's'.
'hold'+'s'='HOLDS'

(Other definitions for holds that I've seen before include "Clutches" , "Grips" , "Grasps" , "Maintains" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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