passive

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See also: Passive and passivé

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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.

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) enPR: păsʹ-ĭv, IPA(key): /ˈpæs.ɪv/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -æsɪv
  • Hyphenation: pas‧sive

Adjective

passive (comparative more passive, superlative most passive)

Examples (being in the passive voice)

The passive form of “A meteorite hit the earth” is “The earth was hit by a meteorite.”

  1. Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
  2. Taking no action.
    He remained passive during the protest.
  3. (grammar) Being in the passive voice.
  4. (psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
  5. (finance) Not participating in management.
  6. (aviation) Without motive power.
    a passive balloon; a passive aeroplane; passive flight, such as gliding and soaring
  7. (electronics) Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
  8. (passive provision) Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
    • 2021 May 5, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Heathrow Western Rail Access scheme 'on hold'”, in RAIL, number 930, page 26:
      There would be a shuttle service of four trains an hour from Reading, where the rebuilt station also has passive provision for the trains.
    Antonym: active

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

passive (plural passives)

  1. (grammar) The passive voice of verbs.
  2. (grammar) A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.
  3. (marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.
    • 2014, Roy Barnes, Bob Kelleher, Customer Experience For Dummies, page 266:
      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. (electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
    • 2001, The Virginia Engineer, volume 50, page 20:
      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.
    • 2010, Sridhar Canumalla, Puligandla Viswanadham, Portable Consumer Electronics: Packaging, Materials, and Reliability:
      The components include active devices such as logic, memory, processors, etc.; passives such as capacitors, resistors, crystal oscillators, inductances, etc.; […]
  5. (gaming) Short for passive attack.

Derived terms

Translations

passive voice — see passive voice

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

passive

  1. feminine singular of passif

Verb

passive

  1. inflection of passiver:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

passive

  1. inflection of passiv:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pasˈsi.ve/
  • Rhymes: -ive
  • Hyphenation: pas‧sì‧ve

Adjective

passive

  1. feminine plural of passivo

Anagrams

Latin

Etymology

From passīvus +‎ -ē, ultimately from pandō.

Pronunciation

Adverb

passīvē (not comparable)

  1. randomly
  2. disorderly

Middle English

Adjective

passive

  1. Alternative form of passyf

Noun

passive

  1. Alternative form of passyf
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