Passive
['pæsɪv]
Definition
(adj.) lacking in energy or will; 'Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself'- George Meredith .
(adj.) expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb; 'academics seem to favor passive sentences' .
(adj.) peacefully resistant in response to injustice; 'passive resistance' .
Checked by Evita--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene.
(a.) Receiving or enduring without either active sympathy or active resistance; without emotion or excitement; patient; not opposing; unresisting; as, passive obedience; passive submission.
(a.) Inactive; inert; not showing strong affinity; as, red phosphorus is comparatively 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.
Editor: Susanna
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Quiet, quiescent, inert, inactive, not active.[2]. Unresisting, submissive, patient, long-suffering.
Inputed by Jeff
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Inactive, inert, quiescent, unresisting, unquestioning, negative, enduring,patient
ANT:Active, alert, resistant, positive, unsubmissive, malcontent, vehement,impatient
Editor: Wilma
Definition
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.
Checker: Sabina
Examples
- It is, however, a passive face. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Mr. Luffey retired a few paces behind the wicket of the passive Podder, and applied the ball to his right eye for several seconds. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Mrs. Bretton, though a commanding, and in grave matters even a peremptory woman, was often passive in trifles: she allowed the child her way. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- The more passive the mind is, the more truly objects will impress themselves upon it. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The hitherto inert and passive mill woke; fire flashed from its empty window-frames; a volley of musketry pealed sharp through the Hollow. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I had feelings: passive as I lived, little as I spoke, cold as I looked, when I thought of past days, I _could_ feel. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- You sit quietly where I have placed you, and regard me with a weary, passive look. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- There could be no harm in a scheme, a mere passive scheme. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Yes, in a passive way: I make no effort; I follow as inclination guides me. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- She used to be pliability itself, but she was now inflexibly passive in her resignation--I might almost say in her despair. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- He was a diligent but, as was natural, considering the character of his early education, by no means a passive student. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Can you leave them, gentlemen, without at least rendering them the passive succor which remaining here a few days longer might insure them? Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- He seized her passive hand, and the watering-pot fell to the ground as he pressed it to his lips. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Gudrun was very beautiful, passive, soft-skinned, soft-limbed. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- A curious passive inattention had such possession of her, that the presence of her little sister in the room did not attract her notice for some time. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
Editor: Moll