Wiktionary

active

See also: activé

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English actyf, from Old French actif, from Latin activus, from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti.

Morphologically act +‎ -ive.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˈæk.tɪv/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -æktɪv

AdjectiveEdit

active (comparative more active, superlative most active)

  1. Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives.
    certain active principles
    the active powers of the mind
    Synonym: acting
    Antonym: passive
  2. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble.
    an active child or animal
    Synonyms: agile, nimble
    Antonyms: passive, indolent, still
  3. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force
    active laws
    active hostilities
    Synonyms: in action, working, in force
    Antonyms: quiescent, dormant, extinct
    1. (specifically, of certain geological features, such as volcano, geysers, etc) Emitting hot materials, such as lava, smoke, or steam, or producing tremors.
  4. Given to action; constantly engaged in action; energetic; diligent; busy
    an active man of business
    active mind
    active zeal
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. […] He was smooth-faced, and his fresh skin and well-developed figure bespoke the man in good physical condition through active exercise, yet well content with the world's apportionment.
    Synonyms: busy, deedful, diligent, energetic
    Antonyms: dull, sluggish, indolent, inert
  5. Requiring or implying action or exertion
    active employment or service
    active scenes
    Synonym: operative
    Antonyms: passive, tranquil, sedentary
  6. Given to action rather than contemplation; practical; operative
    an active rather than a speculative statesman
    Antonyms: theoretical, speculative
  7. Brisk; lively.
    an active demand for corn
  8. Implying or producing rapid action.
    an active disease
    an active remedy
    Antonyms: passive, slow
  9. (heading, grammar) About verbs.
    1. Applied to a form of the verb; — opposed to passive. See active voice.
    2. Applied to verbs which assert that the subject acts upon or affects something else; transitive.
    3. Applied to all verbs that express action as distinct from mere existence or state.
  10. (computing, of source code) Eligible to be processed by a compiler or interpreter.
    • 2006 December 24, David Williams, “satellite program”, in comp.lang.basic.visual.misc, Usenet‎[1]:
      I think it should be upgraded to Visual BASIC, but I'm no good at that. So maybe someone here would like to take a crack at it. There are only 40 lines of active code, plus a few REMs. About 100 BASIC commands altogether.
    • 2012, Chris Grover, “Triggering Actions”, in Adobe Edge Preview 5: The Missing Manual, 3rd edition, Sebastopol: O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 98:
      Edge uses green text for comments. This makes it easier for you to quickly differentiate between active code and comments.
  11. (electronics) Not passive.
  12. (gay sexual slang) (of a homosexual man) enjoying a role in anal sex in which he penetrates, rather than being penetrated by his partner.
    Synonym: top
    Antonyms: passive, bottom

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

  • Albanian: aktiv

TranslationsEdit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See alsoEdit

NounEdit

active (plural actives)

  1. A person or thing that is acting or capable of acting.
    • 1989, The Alcalde (volume 78, number 2, page 11)
      "Alumni could become more active in giving guidance and leadership to students. They act as sort of a 'maturity governor' on fraternities," notes Ratliff, citing surveys suggesting that fraternity actives presume mistakenly that alumni want hazing […]
  2. (electronics) Any component that is not passive. See Passivity (engineering).
    • 2013, David Manners, Hitchhikers' Guide to Electronics in the '90s (page 36)
      Components are split into two broad segments: actives and passives. Active components like the vacuum tube and the transistor contain the power to generate and alter electrical signals.

Further readingEdit

AnagramsEdit

AsturianEdit

VerbEdit

active

  1. first-person singular present subjunctive of activar
  2. third-person singular present subjunctive of activar

FrenchEdit

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

active

  1. feminine singular of actif

VerbEdit

active

  1. inflection of activer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

AnagramsEdit

GermanEdit

Alternative formsEdit

Etymology 1Edit

Borrowed from Latin āctīvē.

AdverbEdit

active

  1. (grammar, obsolete) actively

Etymology 2Edit

AdjectiveEdit

active

  1. inflection of activ:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

InterlinguaEdit

AdjectiveEdit

active (not comparable)

  1. active

Related termsEdit

LatinEdit

Etymology 1Edit

AdverbEdit

āctīvē (comparative āctīvius, superlative āctīvissimē)

  1. (grammar) actively

Etymology 2Edit

AdjectiveEdit

āctīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of āctīvus

ReferencesEdit

  • “active”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • active in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
  • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) to put the finishing touch to a work: extrema manus accēdit operi (active extremam manum imponere operi)
    • (ambiguous) to be some one's favourite: in amore et deliciis esse alicui (active in deliciis habere aliquem)

Middle EnglishEdit

AdjectiveEdit

active

  1. Alternative form of actyf

NounEdit

active

  1. Alternative form of actyf

PortugueseEdit

VerbEdit

active

  1. inflection of activar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

RomanianEdit

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

active

  1. nominative/accusative feminine/neuter plural of activ

SpanishEdit

VerbEdit

active

  1. inflection of activar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
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