passive
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pasivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpæsɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb
“Academics seem to favor passive sentences.”
Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
grammar
Being in the passive voice.
Taking no action.
in "passive provision"
Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
noun
A thing whose worth decreases with time.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb
Used this way, passive is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
“Academics seem to favor passive sentences.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use passive
- “Academics seem to favor passive sentences.”adjective
- “`The ball was thrown by the boy' uses the passive voice.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A person who passes by casually or by chance.
Able to be passed or traversed or crossed.
In a passive manner.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An impermanent form of acquired immunity in which antibodies against a disease are acquired naturally (as through the placenta to an unborn child) or artificially (as by injection of…
A type of LCD display used for some portable computers.
Peaceful resistance to a government by fasting or refusing to cooperate.
A reformer who believes in passive resistance.
An informant who is not assigned to obtain specific intelligence but who routinely passes on whatever information he or she has.
Transport of a substance across a cell membrane by diffusion.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.