passive
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English passyf, passyve, from Middle French, French passif, from Latin passivus (“serving to express the suffering of an action; in late Latin literally capable of suffering or feeling”), from passus, past participle of pati (“to suffer”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- (“to hurt”); compare patient.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
passive (comparative more passive, superlative most passive)
Examples (being in the passive voice) |
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The passive form of “A meteorite hit the earth” is “The earth was hit by a meteorite.” |
- Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
- Taking no action.
- He remained passive during the protest.
- (grammar) Being in the passive voice.
- (psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
- (finance) Not participating in management.
- (aviation) Without motive power.
- a passive balloon; a passive aeroplane; passive flight, such as gliding and soaring
- (electronics) Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
- (passive provision) Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
- 2021 May 5, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Heathrow Western Rail Access scheme 'on hold'”, in RAIL, number 930, page 26:
- There would be a shuttle service of four trains an hour from Reading, where the rebuilt station also has passive provision for the trains.
- Antonym: active
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
- activo-passive
- long passive
- neutropassive
- passive-aggressive
- passive aggressor
- passive armour
- passive defense
- passive euthanasia
- passive gravitational mass
- passive immunity
- passive income
- passive investor
- passive iron
- passive learning
- passively
- passive matrix
- passiveness
- passive participle
- passive radar
- passive resistance
- passive resister
- passive restraint
- passive smoker
- passive smoking
- passive solar
- passive vocabulary
- passive voice
- passivity
- passivization
- passivize
Related terms edit
Translations edit
not active, but acted upon
|
taking no action
|
grammar: being in the passive voice
|
psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
|
- 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
Noun edit
passive (plural passives)
- (grammar) The passive voice of verbs.
- (grammar) A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.
- (marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.
- 2014, Roy Barnes, Bob Kelleher, Customer Experience For Dummies, page 266:
- If you want to improve your organization's NPS, you need to follow up with your detractors, passives, and promoters to understand why they answered your question as they did and what you can do better in the future.
- (electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
- 2001, The Virginia Engineer, volume 50, page 20:
- Reductions In Both Size And Weight Offered By Integrated Passives
You may not know it yet, but if you're like most consumers, you want integrated passives.
- 2010, Sridhar Canumalla, Puligandla Viswanadham, Portable Consumer Electronics: Packaging, Materials, and Reliability:
- The components include active devices such as logic, memory, processors, etc.; passives such as capacitors, resistors, crystal oscillators, inductances, etc.; […]
- (gaming) Short for passive attack.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
passive voice — see passive voice
form of verb
Further reading edit
- “passive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “passive”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
passive
Verb edit
passive
- inflection of passiver:
German edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Adjective edit
passive
- inflection of passiv:
Italian edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
passive
Anagrams edit
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From passīvus + -ē, ultimately from pandō.
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /pasˈsiː.u̯eː/, [päs̠ˈs̠iːu̯eː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /pasˈsi.ve/, [päsˈsiːve]
Adverb edit
passīvē (not comparable)
Middle English edit
Adjective edit
passive
- Alternative form of passyf
Noun edit
passive
- Alternative form of passyf