passive
not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling.
not participating readily or actively; inactive: a passive member of a committee.
not involving visible reaction or active participation: to play a passive role.
inert or quiescent.
influenced, acted upon, or affected by some external force, cause, or agency; being the object of action rather than causing action (opposed to active def. 6).
receiving or characterized by the reception of impressions or influences from external sources.
produced or caused by an external agency.
receiving, enduring, or submitting without resistance: a passive hypnotic subject.
Grammar.
noting a voice in the inflection of the verb in some languages which is used to indicate that the subject undergoes the action of the verb. Latin portātur, “he, she, or it is carried,” is in the passive voice.
noting or pertaining to a construction similar to this in meaning, as English He is carried (opposed to active def. 8).
Chemistry. inactive, especially under conditions in which chemical activity is to be expected.
Metallurgy. (of a metal) treated so as to impart impassivity.
Medicine/Medical. of or relating to certain unhealthy but dormant conditions; inactive, as opposed to active or spontaneous.
Telecommunications. designed to relay signals without electronic devices: a passive communications satellite.
(of a solar heating system) accumulating and distributing solar heat without the aid of machinery.
the passive voice.
a passive form or construction.
Origin of passive
1Other words for passive
| 8 | submissive, docile, unresisting |
Opposites for passive
Other words from passive
- pas·sive·ly, adverb
- qua·si-pas·sive, adjective
- sem·i·pas·sive, adjective
- sem·i·pas·sive·ness, noun
- un·pas·sive, adjective
Words Nearby passive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use passive in a sentence
For marketers, this means an opportunity to sell to a group of prospects who aren’t just passive readers or random social media users but active listeners who are willing to end the day having learned and encountered something new.
Inbound marketing for brand awareness: Four up-to-date ways to do it | Ali Faagba | September 11, 2020 | Search Engine WatchMore passive screen time was linked to worse outcomes in health and school achievement, the researchers found, compared with the other categories.
Healthy screen time is one challenge of distance learning | Kathryn Hulick | September 11, 2020 | Science News For StudentsIf the situation turns another way, you might find yourself passive in the face of great evil, unsure what to make of it.
Believing in Monsters: David Livingstone Smith on the Subhuman - Facts So Romantic | Eric Schwitzgebel | September 11, 2020 | NautilusAs others have pointed out, for example, the term “officer-involved shooting” is a passive phrasing that deemphasizes police officers’ use of deadly force, obscuring their role in state violence.
What’s missing from corporate statements on racial injustice? The real cause of racism. | Amy Nordrum | September 5, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewIt’s not surprising that his therapist says Charlie engages in “passive suicidal behavior” or that Charlie’s love life sucks.
If we want to prevent others from your fate, we need to stop being so passive on these issues.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIn a rather passive aggressive letter, the House Minority Leader wrote.
These “smart benches” can do more than simply serve as passive producers of electricity.
It turned Web surfers into passive consumers of published content.
More and more, Obama seems like a passive observer of events who dismisses criticism as superficial.
passive hyperemia occurs most commonly in diseases of the heart and liver and in pregnancy.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddIn conversation their minds are apt to remain in a recipient passive state.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)A purely passive defence is not possible for us; it implies losing ground by degrees—and we have not a yard to lose.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonWhatever his secret care might have been, it was now passive; he was a general favourite, and courted in society.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodAnd we shall not go there, to be idle—passive spectators to an invasion of South American rights.
British Dictionary definitions for passive
/ (ˈpæsɪv) /
not active or not participating perceptibly in an activity, organization, etc
unresisting and receptive to external forces; submissive
not working or operating
affected or acted upon by an external object or force
grammar denoting a voice of verbs in sentences in which the grammatical subject is not the logical subject but rather the recipient of the action described by the verb, as was broken in the sentence The glass was broken by a boy: Compare active (def. 5a)
chem (of a substance, esp a metal) apparently chemically unreactive, usually as a result of the formation of a thin protective layer that prevents further reaction
electronics telecomm
containing no source of power and therefore capable only of attenuating a signal: a passive network
not capable of amplifying a signal or controlling a function: a passive communications satellite
finance (of a bond, share, debt, etc) yielding no interest
grammar
the passive voice
a passive verb
Origin of passive
1Derived forms of passive
- passively, adverb
- passivity or passiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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