1. Adjective
Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene.
2. Adjective
Receiving or enduring without either active sympathy or active resistance; without emotion or excitement; patient; not opposing; unresisting; as, passive obedience; passive submission.
3. Adjective
Inactive; inert; not showing strong affinity; as, red phosphorus is comparatively passive.
4. Adjective
Designating certain morbid conditions, as hemorrhage or dropsy, characterized by relaxation of the vessels and tissues, with deficient vitality and lack of reaction in the affected tissues.
5. Noun
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; "‘The ball was thrown by the boy’ uses the passive voice"; "‘The ball was thrown’ is an abbreviated passive"
Vocabulary classified under Spelling and grammar
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