passive
1 of 2adjective
pas·sive ˈpa-siv 
1
a(1)
: acted upon by an external agency
(2)
: receptive to outside impressions or influences
b(1)
: asserting that the grammatical subject of a verb is subjected to or affected by the action represented by that verb
the passive voice
(2)
: containing or yielding a passive verb form
c(1)
: lacking in energy or will : lethargic
(2)
: tending not to take an active or dominant part
d
: induced by an outside agency
passive exercise of a paralyzed leg
2
a
: not active or operating : inert
b
: of, relating to, or making direct use of the sun's heat usually without the intervention of mechanical devices
a passive solar house
c
: latent
d
: of, relating to, or characterized by a state of chemical inactivity
especially : resistant to corrosion
e
of an electronic element : exhibiting no gain or control
f
: relating to the detection of an object through its emission of energy or sound
passive sonar
3
a
: receiving or enduring without resistance : submissive
b
: existing or occurring without being active, open, or direct
passive support
4
: of, relating to, or being business activity in which the investor does not actively participate in the generation of income
passively adverb
passiveness noun
passive
2 of 2noun
pas·sive ˈpa-siv
1
: a verb form whose grammatical subject is subjected to or affected by the action represented by that verb : a passive verb form
2
: the passive voice of a language
Synonyms
Adjective
- acquiescent
- nonresistant
- resigned
- tolerant
- tolerating
- unresistant
- yielding
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective The destructive myth/legend of Herbert Hoover strikes again. The nation's 31st President has chronically been portrayed as passive in the face of the Great Depression and his successor, Franklin Roosevelt, as the exact opposite—an activist who, if he didn't actually cure the Depression, at least profoundly improved the nation's battered psychology. 
Steve Forbes, Forbes, 30 June 2008 He believes that the time has come for Europeans to discard their passive role with respect to the United States and that Americans must be made to understand why. Nicholas Fraser, Harper's, May 2006 Throughout the streets of Moscow last Wednesday, word of the ignominious flight of the Soviet Union's would-be junta brought a sense not of jubilation, but of quiet relief that a bloody civil war had been averted, and of satisfaction that the myth of the passive, obedient Russian people might be laid to rest. Fred Hiatt, Washington Post, 26 Aug.-1 Sept. 1991 “Hits” in “She hits the ball” is active, while “hit” in “The ball was hit” is passive. In “He was hit by the ball,” “hit” is a passive verb.
Steve Forbes, Forbes, 30 June 2008 He believes that the time has come for Europeans to discard their passive role with respect to the United States and that Americans must be made to understand why. Nicholas Fraser, Harper's, May 2006 Throughout the streets of Moscow last Wednesday, word of the ignominious flight of the Soviet Union's would-be junta brought a sense not of jubilation, but of quiet relief that a bloody civil war had been averted, and of satisfaction that the myth of the passive, obedient Russian people might be laid to rest. Fred Hiatt, Washington Post, 26 Aug.-1 Sept. 1991 “Hits” in “She hits the ball” is active, while “hit” in “The ball was hit” is passive. In “He was hit by the ball,” “hit” is a passive verb. Recent Examples on the Web Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 12 Sep. 2022 His Silverio is passive, a reactor more than a seize-the-day actor, and this has the effect of making the story of his vaunted journalistic career seem an anvil of apathy that’s hanging around the movie’s neck. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 Sep. 2022 Does the new capital partner get to pick the next CEO, a few board seats, or are they expected to be fully passive? Bruce Werner, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Jane is just as passive, even though Thor might die. Chris Smith, BGR, 12 July 2022 His active work is essentially internal, and his public side is essentially passive and requires the active, public, theatrical work of a woman, an actress, to bring it to the world. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022 Most butterworts are entirely passive, although a few can curl the edges of their leaves inward, covering more of the insect in lethal goo. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Mar. 2022 Blake is an expert on teaching his viewers how to make passive income and grow it, much like a college-level business course. Essence, 30 Aug. 2022 Owning a home in the metaverse also comes with ample opportunity for owners to create passive income. Emma Reynolds, Forbes, 26 Aug. 2022 Ildeme Mahinay Koch, Forbes, 13 May 2022 The redistricting conflict comes two months after Cortez abandoned his fellow Democrats during a quorum break in Washington, D.C., to block the passive of a restrictive GOP election bill. Gilbert Garcia, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Oct. 2021 Janet Randall, a psycholinguist at Northeastern University, has found that rendering these instructions in plain English, stripping out passives and legalese especially, makes them much easier to interpret. The Economist, 14 Apr. 2018 See More
Adjective
DJ Humphries got a deal, but the pass protection was passive, at best. Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 12 Sep. 2022 His Silverio is passive, a reactor more than a seize-the-day actor, and this has the effect of making the story of his vaunted journalistic career seem an anvil of apathy that’s hanging around the movie’s neck. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 Sep. 2022 Does the new capital partner get to pick the next CEO, a few board seats, or are they expected to be fully passive? Bruce Werner, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Jane is just as passive, even though Thor might die. Chris Smith, BGR, 12 July 2022 His active work is essentially internal, and his public side is essentially passive and requires the active, public, theatrical work of a woman, an actress, to bring it to the world. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022 Most butterworts are entirely passive, although a few can curl the edges of their leaves inward, covering more of the insect in lethal goo. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Mar. 2022 Blake is an expert on teaching his viewers how to make passive income and grow it, much like a college-level business course. Essence, 30 Aug. 2022 Owning a home in the metaverse also comes with ample opportunity for owners to create passive income. Emma Reynolds, Forbes, 26 Aug. 2022 Noun
Smart companies recognize that in recent years, their customers have shifted from a passive to an active role. Ildeme Mahinay Koch, Forbes, 13 May 2022 The redistricting conflict comes two months after Cortez abandoned his fellow Democrats during a quorum break in Washington, D.C., to block the passive of a restrictive GOP election bill. Gilbert Garcia, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Oct. 2021 Janet Randall, a psycholinguist at Northeastern University, has found that rendering these instructions in plain English, stripping out passives and legalese especially, makes them much easier to interpret. The Economist, 14 Apr. 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Noun
Middle English, from Latin passivus, from passus, past participle of pati
First Known Use
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Noun
1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing passive
Kids Definition
passive
adjective
pas·sive ˈpa-siv
1
: not taking an active part
We were passive spectators.
2
: showing that the person or thing represented by the subject is acted on by the verb
The phrase "were met" in "we were met by our friends" is passive.
3
: offering no resistance
passive acceptance of the decision
Medical Definition
passive
adjective
pas·sive ˈpas-iv
1
a(1)
: lethargic or lacking in energy or will
(2)
: tending not to take an active or dominant part
a passive spouse
b
: induced by an outside agency
passive exercise of a paralyzed leg
2
a
: of, relating to, or characterized by a state of chemical inactivity
b
: not involving expenditure of chemical energy
passive transport across a plasma membrane
3
: producing passive immunity
passive immunotherapy
Legal Definition
passive
adjective
pas·sive ˈpa-siv
: not involving, deriving from, or requiring effort or active participation
imposed a passive duty not to interfere
specifically : of, relating to, or being business activity in which the investor does not have immediate control over the income-producing activity
passive income
passive losses
Note: Under the Internal Revenue Code, there are two sources of passive income: rental activity and a business in which the taxpayer does not materially participate.
passive
adjective
as in resigned
receiving or enduring without offering resistance the union rank and file were surprisingly passive about the givebacks in the new labor contract Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- resigned
- obedient
- acquiescent
- nonresistant
- tolerant
- stoic
- tolerating
- docile
- willing
- unresistant
- submissive
- yielding
- impassive
- compliant
- patient
- uncomplaining
- stoical
- forbearing
- conformist
- subordinate
- pliant
- amiable
- apathetic
- tractable
- pliable
- conformable
- surrendering
- subservient
- obliging
- uncaring
- unresponsive
- amenable
- complying
- guidable
- agreeable
- long-suffering
- obeisant
- slavish
- law-abiding
- manageable
- governable
- disciplined
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- resistant
- defiant
- resisting
- unyielding
- protesting
- rebellious
- refractory
- uncontrollable
- disobedient
- recalcitrant
- contrary
- willful
- wilful
- contumacious
- unruly
- intractable
- insurgent
- mutinous
- restive
- wayward
- insubordinate
- perverse
- ungovernable
- headstrong
- wrongheaded
- balky
- indomitable
- untoward
- undisciplined
- incompliant
- froward
- unmanageable
- dissident
- nonconformist
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of passive are idle, inactive, inert, and supine. While all these words mean "not engaged in work or activity," passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.
passive resistance
While in some cases nearly identical to passive, idle applies to persons that are not busy or occupied or to their powers or their implements.
workers were idle in the fields
Although the words inactive and passive have much in common, inactive applies to anyone or anything not in action or in operation or at work.
on inactive status as an astronaut
inactive accounts
While the synonyms inert and passive are close in meaning, inert as applied to things implies powerlessness to move or to affect other things; as applied to persons it suggests an inherent or habitual indisposition to activity.
inert ingredients in drugs
an inert citizenry
The words supine and passive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, supine applies only to persons and commonly implies abjectness or indolence.
a supine willingness to play the fool
- off the record
- off the sauce
- off the schneid
- off the shelf
- off the table
- off the top of one's head
- off the wagon
- off the wall
- off the wind
- off theory
- off year
- off'n
- off-air
- off-and-on
- off-axis reflector
- off-balance
- off-bar
- off-bear
- off-bearer
- off-board
- off-brand
- off-broadway
- off-center
- off-color
- off-colored