Helping to share the web since 1996
Use the search bar above to find dictionary definitions - click home to search Link Centre for websites.
Dictionary definition for: Passive
1. (n) 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"
2. (a) lacking in energy or will; "Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself"- George Meredith
3. (s) peacefully resistant in response to injustice; "passive resistance"
4. (a) expressing thatthe subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb; "academics seem to favor passive sentences"
WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.