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active voice

Cultural

One of the two “voices” of verbs (see also passive voice). When the verb of a sentence is in the active voice, the subject is doing the acting, as in the sentence “Kevin hit the ball.” Kevin (the subject of the sentence) acts in relation to the ball.

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.

"As a player who has an active voice, I tell people to seek help," he said.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2024

Long after he left office, Florio continued to be an active voice and weighed in on several issues.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 26, 2022

I think he’s doing a very good job of showing leadership right now in terms of taking an active voice and using that in the U.N. and NATO.

From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2022

The meanings in both passive and active voice remain the same, yet their effect is different.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

The passive allows him to do so because the agent can be left unmentioned, which is impossible in the active voice.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

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