PASSIVE

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does passive mean? 

• PASSIVE (noun)
  The noun PASSIVE has 1 sense:

1. 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

  Familiarity information: PASSIVE used as a noun is very rare.

• PASSIVE (adjective)
  The adjective PASSIVE has 3 senses:

1. lacking in energy or will

2. peacefully resistant in response to injustice

3. expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb

  Familiarity information: PASSIVE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PASSIVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

passive; passive voice

Context example:

'The ball was thrown' is an abbreviated passive

Hypernyms ("passive" is a kind of...):

voice ((linguistics) the grammatical relation (active or passive) of the grammatical subject of a verb to the action that the verb denotes)

Derivation:

passive (expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb)

• PASSIVE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lacking in energy or will

Synonyms:

inactive; passive

Context example:

Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself

Similar:

hands-off (not involving participation or intervention)

resistless; unresisting (offering no resistance)

supine (passive as a result of indolence or indifference)

Attribute:

passiveness; passivity (the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative)

Antonym:

active (disposed to take action or effectuate change)

Derivation:

passiveness; passivity (the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Peacefully resistant in response to injustice

Synonyms:

passive; peaceful

Context example:

passive resistance

Similar:

nonviolent (abstaining (on principle) from the use of violence)

Derivation:

passiveness (submission to others or to outside influences)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb

Context example:

academics seem to favor passive sentences

Domain category:

grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))

Antonym:

active (expressing that the subject of the sentence has the semantic function of actor:)

Derivation:

passive (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)

 Context examples 

They also will compare immunization with purified capsule polysaccharide as a preventive approach (active immunization) versus using capsule-specific antibodies as a therapy (passive immunization).

(Scientists describe potential antibody approach for treating multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, National Institutes of Health)

There could be no harm in a scheme, a mere passive scheme.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Most of the few selfing mechanisms found are passive.

(Some plants are capable of ‘rubbing’ themselves for hours in order to achieve self fertilization, University of Granada)

“I dare not come within reach of his arms, and he knows that so long as his resistance is passive I cannot shoot him.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

In BMT, CMV infection may be prevented by passive immunization with donor-derived CMV-pp65-specific T-cell clones if provided early post-BMT.

(CMV N495 Peptide, NCI Thesaurus)

He took her in his arms and kissed her, but she proved a passive sweetheart.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The study sought to find if infants and very young children are at increased risk from passive tobacco smoke exposure given their higher respiration rates and likely contact with surface residues.

(Infants, Toddlers at More Risk from Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke than Thought, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Cell Mobility consists of passive translocation of the whole cell, or cell body, from one site to another.

(Cell Mobility, NCI Thesaurus)

Yes, in a passive way: I make no effort; I follow as inclination guides me.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The hand which had so pressed hers to his heart! the hand and the heart were alike motionless and passive now!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)