passive

adj, noun — 14 senses

passive

adj

UK, US /ˈpæs.ɪv/

Etymology 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.

8 senses
  1. 1Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
  2. 2Taking no action.
  3. 3Being in the passive voice.
  4. 4Being inactive and submissive in a relationship…
  5. 5Not participating in management.
  6. 6Without motive power.
  7. 7Of a component: that consumes but does not produce…
  8. 8Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
1

Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.

2

Taking no action.

  • He remained passive during the protest.
3

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Being in the passive voice.

4

Human sciences, Psychology, Sciences Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.

5

Business, Finance Not participating in management.

6

Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Without motive power.

  • a passive balloon
  • a passive aeroplane
1 more example
  • passive flight, such as gliding and soaring
7

Business, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Electronics, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.

8

In "passive provision" Where allowance is made for a possible future event.

  • There would be a shuttle service of four trains an hour from Reading, where the rebuilt station also has passive provision for the trains.2021 May 5, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Heathrow Western Rail Access scheme 'on hold'”, in RAIL, number 930, page 26:
Synonyms
disinterested, uninvolved
Derived terms
60 termsactivo-passive, antipassive, endopassive, exopassive, interpassive, long passive, mediopassive, neutropassive, nonpassive, paggro, passifan, passival, passivate, passivation, passive-aggressive, passive aggressor, passive armour, passive box, 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 photolocation, passive radar, passive resistance, passive resister, passive restraint, passive smoke, passive smoker, passive smoking, passive solar, passive speaker, passive suffrage, passive vape, passive vaper, passive vaping, passive vaporing, passive vapouring, passive vocabulary, passive voice, passivise, passivism, passivist, passivistic, passivity, passivization, passivize, pseudo-passive, pseudopassive, transpassive, unpassive
Related terms
passion, passionate, patience, patient

passive

noun

Etymology 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.

1

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The passive voice of verbs.

2

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.

3

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

  • 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.2014, Roy Barnes, Bob Kelleher, Customer Experience For Dummies, page 266:
4

Business, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Electronics, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.

  • 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.2001, The Virginia Engineer, volume 50, page 20:
  • The components include active devices such as logic, memory, processors, etc.; passives such as capacitors, resistors, crystal oscillators, inductances, etc.; […]2010, Sridhar Canumalla, Puligandla Viswanadham, Portable Consumer Electronics: Packaging, Materials, and Reliability:
5

Games, Gaming Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of passive attack.

6

A thing whose worth decreases with time.

Derived terms
French passive, Greek passive, impersonal passive, short passive

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.