Dictionary Definition
passive adj
1 lacking in energy or will; "Much benevolence of
the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain
upon oneself"- George Meredith [syn: inactive] [ant: active]
2 peacefully resistant in response to injustice;
"passive resistance" [syn: peaceful]
3 expressing thatthe subject of the sentence is
the patient of the action denoted by the verb; "academics seem to
favor passive sentences" [ant: active] n : the voice used to
indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient
(not the source) of the action denoted by the verb; "`The ball was
thrown by the boy' uses the passive voice"; "`The ball was thrown'
is an abbreviated passive" [syn: passive
voice] [ant: active
voice]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
Adjective
- Something that is not active, but rather is acted upon.
- When the subject of
a sentence has an
action done to them.
- The passive form of “A meteorite hit the earth” is “The earth was hit by a meteorite.”
- Remaining neutral or
submissive during an
event.
- He remained passive during the protest.
- In same-sex male relationships, the bottom or receptive sexual partner, opposite the active.
- In BDSM relationships, the submissive or bottom partner, opposite the active.
Translations
receptive sexual partner (gay)
passive voice in grammar
remaining neutral, taking no action
Derived terms
Noun
Italian
Adjective
passive pExtensive Definition
Passive is the opposite of active. It has several specific
meanings:
- Passive voice of a verb
- Passivation is the formation of a non-reactive surface film that inhibits further corrosion of a metal
- Passive components in electronics
- Passive mode in File Transfer Protocol
- Passive house, a standard for energy efficient buildings
- The passive partner in a sexual activity
- "Passive" (song), by A Perfect Circle from their album eMOTIVe
- Not affecting physical matter
- as in telepathy: see Psionics#Passive
See also
passive in German: Passiv
passive in French: Passif
passive in Slovak: Pasívnosť
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Laodicean, Olympian, abeyant, abject, accepting, accommodating, acquiescent, active, active voice, adapting, adaptive, adjusting, agreeable, aloof, amenable, apathetic, asleep, assenting, bearing, benumbed, blah, blank, blankminded, blase, bovine, calm, cataleptic, catatonic, centrist, comatose, complaisant, compliable, compliant, complying, consenting, contemplative, cool, dead, deferential, desensitized, detached, disinterested, dispassionate, do-nothing,
docile, dopey, dormant, dull, empty, empty-headed, enduring, even, fatuous, fifty-fifty, flat, flexible, forbearing, foul, gentle, groggy, half-and-half, heartless, heavy, hebetudinous, hopeless, humble, idle, immobile, impartial, impassive, imperturbable, implicit, in a stupor, in
abeyance, in suspense, inactive, inane, incogitant, independent, indifferent, inert, insouciant, laissez-aller,
laissez-faire, lamblike, languid, languorous, latent, leaden, lethargic, lifeless, listless, logy, long-suffering, malleable, medio-passive,
meditative, meek, middle, middle voice, midway, moderate, motionless, neuter, neutral, nirvanic, nonaligned, nonchalant, noncommitted, nondissenting, nonpartisan, nonresistant, nonresisting, nonresistive, nonviolent, numb, numbed, obedient, oblivious, on the fence, out
of it, ovine, paralytic, paralyzed, passive voice,
patient, phlegmatic, placid, pliable, pluckless, procrastinating,
quiescent, quiet, quietist, quietistic, receptive, reconciled, reflexive, relaxed, repressed, resigned, sedentary, serene, servile, sheepish, slack, sleeping, sleepy, sluggish, slumbering, smoldering, soporific, spiritless, spunkless, stagnant, stagnating, standing, standpat, static, stationary, still, stoic, stolid, stupefied, subdued, submissive, subservient, supine, suspended, tacit, tame, third-force, third-world,
thoughtfree,
thoughtless,
tolerant, torpid, tractable, tranquil, unaffected, unaroused, unassertive, uncaring, uncommitted, uncomplaining, unconcerned, undisclosed, unexpressed, unideaed, unintellectual, uninterested, uninvolved, unmoved, unmoving, unoccupied, unperturbed, unreasoning, unresistant, unresisting, unresponsive, unrevealed, unshaken, unthinking, untouched, vacant, vacuous, vegetable, vegetative, voice, withdrawn, yielding