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passive

adj. · n.
US //ˈpæsɪv// UK //pˈɑːsɪv// pas·sive
  1. 1 not taking action (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Psychology

    accepting what happens or what people do without trying to change anything.

    accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.

    Example

    He played a passive role in the meeting and let others make all the decisions.

    Example

    The local population remained largely passive during the political transition, observing the changes without organized protest or public endorsement.
  2. 2 grammar (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Academic Grammar

    describing a sentence where the person or thing that receives the action is the subject.

    denoting a voice of verbs in which the subject undergoes the action of the verb.

    Example

    In the passive sentence 'The window was broken,' we don't know who did it.

    Example

    Scientific writing often employs the passive voice to maintain an objective tone, focusing on the process rather than the researcher.
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  1. 3 finance/investment (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Finance

    earning money without being actively involved in a business or job.

    relating to a form of investment or income where the individual is not involved in day-to-day operations.

    Example

    He earns a passive income from the apartments he rents out to students.

    Example

    Passive investment strategies, such as index funds, typically incur lower management fees than those requiring active trading by a fund manager.
  2. 4 electronics/technology (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Science

    describing a part that uses energy but does not create or increase it.

    relating to a component or system that does not require an external power source to function or cannot amplify a signal.

    Example

    The house uses passive solar heating to stay warm in the winter.

    Example

    The circuit design relies on passive components like resistors and capacitors to filter the signal without the need for additional power amplification.
  3. 5 the passive voice (n.)
    C1 Advanced Academic Grammar

    the form of a verb used when the subject is having something done to it.

    the passive voice or a verb in that voice.

    Example

    The teacher told us to avoid using the passive too much in our essays.

    Example

    While the passive is useful for emphasizing the recipient of an action, overusing it can make prose feel heavy and indirect.
Origin

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.

Word family

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