passive
English
editEtymology
editFrom 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
editAdjective
editpassive (comparative more passive, superlative most passive)
Examples (being in the passive voice) |
---|
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.
- Antonym: active
- 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.
Synonyms
editAntonyms
editDerived terms
edit- activo-passive
- endopassive
- exopassive
- long passive
- neutropassive
- passive-aggressive
- passive aggressor
- passive armour
- passive defense
- passive-dependent
- 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
editTranslations
editnot 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
editpassive (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
editTranslations
editpassive 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
editFrench
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editpassive
Verb
editpassive
- inflection of passiver:
German
editPronunciation
editAudio: (file)
Adjective
editpassive
- inflection of passiv:
Italian
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editpassive
Anagrams
editLatin
editEtymology
editFrom passīvus + -ē, ultimately from pandō.
Pronunciation
edit- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /pasˈsiː.u̯eː/, [päs̠ˈs̠iːu̯eː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /pasˈsi.ve/, [päsˈsiːve]
Adverb
editpassīvē (not comparable)
Middle English
editAdjective
editpassive
- Alternative form of passyf
Noun
editpassive
- Alternative form of passyf
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *peh₁-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æsɪv
- Rhymes:English/æsɪv/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Grammar
- en:Psychology
- en:Finance
- en:Aviation
- English terms with collocations
- en:Electronics
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Marketing
- en:Gaming
- English short forms
- en:Personality
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French non-lemma forms
- French adjective forms
- French verb forms
- German terms with audio links
- German non-lemma forms
- German adjective forms
- Italian 3-syllable words
- Italian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Italian/ive
- Rhymes:Italian/ive/3 syllables
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian adjective forms
- Latin terms suffixed with -e
- Latin 3-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin adverbs
- Latin uncomparable adverbs
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle English nouns