passive voice

Cultural

One of the two “voices” of verbs (see also active voice). A verb is in the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb. For example, in “The ball was thrown by the pitcher,” the ball (the subject) receives the action of the verb, and was thrown is in the passive voice. The same sentence cast in the active voice would be, “The pitcher threw the ball.”

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It is usually preferable to use the active voice wherever possible, because it gives a sense of immediacy to the sentence.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Passive voice: A survey of 300 students was conducted at a large state university in the southern United States.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Passive voice and active voice explained, 56; forms of, 92-100.

From Practical Grammar and Composition by Wood, Thomas

Passive voice, defined, 84; conjugation of follow, in the, 105 ff.; synopsis of follow in the, 106.

From Business English A Practice Book by Buhlig, Rose

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023