Definition of passive Passive

/pæˈsɪv/ - [patsiv] - pas•sive

We found 20 definitions of passive from 6 different sources.

What does passive mean?

Adjective passive, passiver, passivest
passive - lacking in energy or will; "Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself"- George Meredith
		inactive
		active characterized by energetic activity; "an active toddler"; "active as a gazelle"; "an active man is a man of action"
		hands-off not involving participation or intervention; "a hands-off foreign policy"
passive - expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb; "academics seem to favor passive sentences"
		grammar the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics)
passive - peacefully resistant in response to injustice; "passive resistance"
		peaceful
		nonviolent achieved without bloodshed; "an unbloody transfer of power"

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passive (Noun)
The passive voice of verbs.
passive (Noun)
A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.
passive (Adjective)
Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
passive (Adjective)
Taking no action.
passive (Adjective)
Being in the passive voice .
passive (Adjective)
Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
passive (Adjective)
Not participating in management.

passive (a.)
Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene.
passive (a.)
Receiving or enduring without either active sympathy or active resistance; without emotion or excitement; patient; not opposing; unresisting; as, passive obedience; passive submission.
passive (a.)
Inactive; inert; not showing strong affinity; as, red phosphorus is comparatively passive.
passive (a.)
Designating certain morbid conditions, as hemorrhage or dropsy, characterized by relaxation of the vessels and tissues, with deficient vitality and lack of reaction in the affected tissues.

passive
(Something) That is not active, but rather is acted upon.
passive
Lacking in energy or will.
passive
Peacefully resistant in response to injustice.
passive
Expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb.

passive
pas′iv, adj. suffering, unresisting: not acting: (gram.) expressing the suffering of an action by the subject of the verb.—adv. Pass′ively.—ns. Pass′iveness, Passiv′ity, inactivity: patience: tendency of a body to preserve a given state, either of motion or of rest. [Fr.,—L. passivus—pati, suffer.]