passively
adv.doing something without taking action or trying to change a situation. You use this when you let things happen to you instead of being in control.
adv.in a manner that accepts or allows what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance. In a linguistic context, it describes a construction where the subject is the recipient of the action.
“He sat passively while the others did all the work.”
“The students listened passively to the lecture without asking any questions or taking notes.”
“By accepting the terms so passively, the committee effectively signed away their right to negotiate any future amendments to the contract.”
Typically follows the verb it modifies or appears at the end of the clause.
“We had two situations – one corner kick and one attacking [move] – when we defended too passively.”
From passive + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.