passive — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.

2. Taking no action.

   Synonyms

   idleinactive

   Antonyms

   active

   Examples

   He remained passive during the protest.

3. Being in the passive voice.

4. Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.

   Synonyms

   compliantpliantsubmissive

   Antonyms

   aggressivedominant

5. Not participating in management.

6. Without motive power.

   Examples

   a passive balloon

   a passive aeroplane

   More examples (1)

   passive flight, such as gliding and soaring

7. Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.

8. Where allowance is made for a possible future event.

   Usage

   • in "passive provision"

   Antonyms

   active

   Examples

   There would be a shuttle service of four trains an hour from Reading, where the rebuilt station also has passive provision for the trains.

Noun

1. The passive voice of verbs.

2. A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.

3. A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.

   Examples

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   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.

4. Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.

   Examples

   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.

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   The components include active devices such as logic, memory, processors, etc.; passives such as capacitors, resistors, crystal oscillators, inductances, etc.; […]

5. A thing whose worth decreases with time.

Adjective

1. lacking in energy or will

   Synonyms

   inactive

   Antonyms

   active

2. peacefully resistant in response to injustice

   Synonyms

   peaceful

   Examples

   passive resistance

3. expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb

   Antonyms

   active

   Examples

   academics seem to favor passive sentences

Noun

1. the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb

   Synonyms

   passive voice

   Broader terms

   voice

   Examples

   ‘The ball was thrown by the boy’ uses the passive voice

   ‘The ball was thrown’ is an abbreviated passive