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Antonyms for passive


Grammar : Adj
Spell : pas-iv
Phonetic Transcription : ˈpæs ɪv



Definition of passive

Origin :
  • late 14c., in grammatical sense (opposed to active), Old French passif "suffering, undergoing hardship" (14c.) and directly from Latin passivus "capable of feeling or suffering," from pass-, past participle stem of pati "to suffer" (see passion). Meaning "not active" is first recorded late 15c.; sense of "enduring suffering without resistance" is from 1620s. Related: Passively. Passive resistance first attested 1819 in Scott's "Ivanhoe," used throughout 19c.; re-coined by Gandhi c.1906 in South Africa. Passive-aggressive with reference to behavior is attested by 1971.
  • adj lifeless, inactive
Example sentences :
  • When he was at an end of the reading, he regarded the passive woman at the desk with a new respect.
  • Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana
  • Passive, patient, long-suffering she had been the while the mortifications and slights were for herself.
  • Extract from : « In the Valley » by Harold Frederic
  • And there was a passive congeniality between them, besides this active one.
  • Extract from : « Little Dorrit » by Charles Dickens
  • We ask for nothing but passive co-operation--that is, a free passage for our troops.
  • Extract from : « Freeland » by Theodor Hertzka
  • Memory is passive, and consequently memory is a species of passion.
  • Extract from : « Initiation into Philosophy » by Emile Faguet
  • Similarly, the association of ideas is passive, and in consequence is a kind of passion.
  • Extract from : « Initiation into Philosophy » by Emile Faguet
  • But had he not been passive, as you call it, what would you have done to Mr. Solmes?
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • With her speaking to him, he became as passive as the clay she moulded.
  • Extract from : « Cleo The Magnificent » by Louis Zangwill
  • In the whole of this transaction the Moravians were passive and unresisting.
  • Extract from : « Chronicles of Border Warfare » by Alexander Scott Withers
  • Madame Raquin remained huddled up and passive like a bundle of linen.
  • Extract from : « Therese Raquin » by Emile Zola

Synonyms for passive

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019