passive

adjective
UK: /ˈpæsɪv/
US: /ˈpæsɪv/

  1. Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.

    1. He was passive and did not try to stop them.
    2. She took a passive role in the meeting, letting others lead the discussion about passive income.

  2. In grammar, the passive voice is a form of a verb in which the subject receives the action.

    1. The window was broken.
    2. In the sentence 'The ball was caught by the player,' 'was caught' is in the passive voice, showing a passive construction.

  3. Relating to electrical components that do not add energy to a circuit.

    1. Resistors are passive components.
    2. Passive filters, unlike active ones, don't require an external power source to function, offering a passive solution.

Synonyms

inactive submissive docile compliant
passive noun

  1. The passive voice.

    1. The passive is used here.
    2. The teacher explained how to identify the passive in different sentences to avoid passive sentences.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "passive" in English means: Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance., In grammar, the passive voice is a form of a verb in which the subject receives the action., Relating to electrical components that do not add energy to a circuit..

The phonetic transcription of "passive" is /ˈpæsɪv/ in British English and /ˈpæsɪv/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "passive": inactive, submissive, docile, compliant.

Example usage of "passive": "He was passive and did not try to stop them.". More examples on the page.