Word
passive
Phoneticspas·sive, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈpæsɪv/
UK/pˈɑːsɪv/
Definitions
01not taking action
B2 · Upper Intermediate Psychology
adj. accepting what happens or what people do without trying to change anything.
adj. accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.
日本語:受動的※
“He played a passive role in the meeting and let others make all the decisions.”
“The local population remained largely passive during the political transition, observing the changes without organized protest or public endorsement.”
Synonyms
02grammar
B2 · Upper Intermediate Grammar Academic
adj. describing a sentence where the person or thing that receives the action is the subject.
adj. denoting a voice of verbs in which the subject undergoes the action of the verb.
日本語:受動※
“In the passive sentence 'The window was broken,' we don't know who did it.”
“Scientific writing often employs the passive voice to maintain an objective tone, focusing on the process rather than the researcher.”
Antonyms
03finance/investment
C1 · Advanced Finance Technical
adj. earning money without being actively involved in a business or job.
adj. relating to a form of investment or income where the individual is not involved in day-to-day operations.
“He earns a passive income from the apartments he rents out to students.”
“Passive investment strategies, such as index funds, typically incur lower management fees than those requiring active trading by a fund manager.”
Antonyms
04electronics/technology
C1 · Advanced Science Technical
adj. describing a part that uses energy but does not create or increase it.
adj. relating to a component or system that does not require an external power source to function or cannot amplify a signal.
“The house uses passive solar heating to stay warm in the winter.”
“The circuit design relies on passive components like resistors and capacitors to filter the signal without the need for additional power amplification.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
05the passive voice
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Grammar Academic
n. the form of a verb used when the subject is having something done to it.
n. the passive voice or a verb in that voice.
“The teacher told us to avoid using the passive too much in our essays.”
“While the passive is useful for emphasizing the recipient of an action, overusing it can make prose feel heavy and indirect.”
Antonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “passive” in context.
Verb
01. accept in a passive manner
“She refused to accept the decision in a passive manner and immediately filed an appeal.”
verb + prep + adj + noun
02. adopt a passive role
“He tended to adopt a passive role in meetings, rarely contributing his own ideas.”
verb + adj + noun
Noun
03. passive resistance
“The protesters practiced passive resistance by sitting in the middle of the road and refusing to move.”
adj + noun
04. passive smoking
“Public health laws were introduced to protect non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking.”
adj + noun
05. passive voice
“The student was advised to use the active rather than the passive voice to make her writing more engaging.”
adj + noun
Adverb
06. purely passive
“Watching television is often criticized for being a purely passive form of entertainment.”
adv + adj
07. remain passive
“Despite the provocation, the guards were ordered to remain passive and not retaliate.”
verb + adj
Real-World Examples
“Bezos is considered a passive investor and will not have a seat on the board.” “This goes against years of government advice that passive cooling was the preferred method - using shade, ventilation and other design features to bring down temperatures, not mechanical means.” “In some versions of the story he is little more than a passive bystander.” “Using passive acoustic sensors to monitor animals such as bats, crickets and recently earthworms, she aims to understand how biodiversity is faring in response to human-driven environmental change and identify effective nature recovery approaches.” 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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Related words
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- C1 · AdvancedOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/passive
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0