passive

Pluralpassives

1. 1
   adjective

   Not doing anything and letting things happen instead of acting.

   Like sitting and watching a game instead of getting up to play.

   He stayed passive during the whole argument and said nothing.

   Her passive attitude during the crisis frustrated the rest of the team.

   Similarinactive, idle, complacent, unresponsive

   Oppositeactive, proactive

2. 2
   adjective

   Having things done to you from outside without doing anything back.

   Like a ball that just rolls wherever it is pushed.

   The audience was passive, simply taking in whatever the speaker said.

   A passive object cannot resist the forces pushing on it.

   Similarinert, unresponsive

   Oppositeactive, reactive

   Note
3. 3
   adjective

   Describing a sentence where the subject receives the action instead of doing it.

   Like saying "the cake was eaten" instead of "the dog ate the cake."

   The teacher marked the sentence as passive because nobody was named as the doer.

   Editors often rewrite passive sentences to make them clearer.

   Oppositeactive

   Note
4. 4
   noun

   The way of forming verbs where the subject has the action done to it.

   Like saying "the window was broken" without telling who broke it.

   English learners often struggle to use the passive correctly.

   The passive lets you leave out who did something.

   Oppositeactive

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A verb form that shows the action being done to the subject.

   Like "was painted": the wall gets the action instead of doing it.

   The phrase "was eaten" is a passive.

   The exercise asked students to change each passive into an active sentence.

   Oppositeactive

   Note
6. 6
   adjective

   Not taking charge in a relationship, and letting the other person lead.

   Like a dance partner who only follows and never leads.

   In their friendship he was always the passive one, going along with her plans.

   She felt passive in the relationship, never making any decisions herself.

   Similarsubmissive, docile, compliant, meek

   Oppositedominant, assertive

7. 7
   adjective

   Owning part of a business but not helping to run it.

   Like owning part of a store but never working behind the counter.

   He's a passive partner who never comes to the meetings.

   As a passive investor, she just collects her share of the profits.

   Similarhands-off

   Oppositeactive, hands-on

   Note
8. 8
   adjective

   Having no engine or power of its own to move.

   Like a paper plane that only moves when you throw it.

   A glider is a passive aircraft that rides on rising air.

   The broken satellite became a passive object drifting in orbit.

   Similarunpowered

   Oppositepowered

   Note
9. 9
   adjective

   Describing a part that uses energy but cannot make or boost it.

   Like a sponge that soaks up water but can't push it out faster.

   A resistor is a passive part that just uses up energy.

   The circuit uses only passive components, with no battery or amplifier.

   Oppositeactive

   Note
10. 10
    nouncountable

    An electronic part that uses energy but cannot make or boost it.

    Like a plain pipe that water flows through but that adds no push.

    In this design, every passive is soldered before the chips go on.

    Capacitors and resistors are the passives on the board.

    Note

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