passive

(păs'ĭv)
adj.

1. Receiving or subjected to an action without responding or initiating an action in return: the mind viewed as a passive receptacle for sensory experience. See synonyms at inactive.
2. Accepting or submitting without objection or resistance; submissive: a passive acceptance of one's fate.
3. Existing, conducted, or experienced without active or concerted effort: "Although tick paralysis is a reportable disease in Washington, surveillance is passive, and only 10 cases were reported during 1987-1995" (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). "[Many parents believe] that computers are educational and, at the least, less passive than television" (Tamar Lewin).
4. Of, relating to, or being certain bonds or shares that do not bear financial interest.
5. Of, relating to, or being a solar heating or cooling system that uses no external mechanical power.
6. Grammar. Of, relating to, or being a verb form or voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject is the object of the action or the effect of the verb. For example, in the sentence They were impressed by his manner, were impressed is in the passive voice.
7. Chemistry. Unreactive except under special or extreme conditions; inert.
8. Electronics. Exhibiting no gain or contributing no energy: a passive circuit element.
9. Psychology. Relating to or characteristic of an inactive or submissive role in a relationship, especially a sexual relationship.

n.

1. Grammar.
   1. The passive voice.
   2. A verb or construction in the passive voice.
2. One that is submissive or inactive. Often used in the plural: "And the rest of us, we passives of the world, proceeded . . . as if nothing untoward had happened" (Martin Gottfried).

[Middle English, from Old French passif, from Latin passīvus, subject to emotion, the passive, from passus, past participle of patī, to suffer.]

passively pas'sive·ly adv.
passiveness pas'sive·ness n.

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1. The passive voice is illustrated by the sentence Brazil were beaten by France in the final, in which the object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb and the subject is expressed as an agent introduced by the preposition by. Passive verbs are formed with the verb be, and other verbs are used to form so-called 'semi-passives' in which the past participle of the verb is at least partly adjectival (e.g. He got changed / They seem bothered).

2. Other forms of the passive include:

• impersonal constructions with it. It is believed that no action should be taken / It is felt that your complaint arises from a misunderstanding. Sir Ernest Gowers, who as a senior civil servant no doubt saw many such examples in correspondence that came his way, wrote (1965) that 'the impersonal passive...is a construction dear to those who write official and business letters'. 'It is reasonable enough in statements made at large,' he continued, giving the example It is understood that the wanted man is wearing a raincoat and a cloth cap, 'but when one person is addressing another it often amounts to a pusillanimous shrinking from responsibility' (as in the examples given at the beginning of this paragraph).
• double passive. This occurs with verbs such as attempt, begin, desire, endeavour, propose, threaten, and others involving constructions with a passive infinitive, as in The order was attempted to be carried out / No greater thrill can be hoped to be enjoyed. Clearly these types are often extremely awkward in not corresponding to a comparable active form (☒ They attempted the order to be carried out / ☒ We hope no greater thrill to be enjoyed), and a fully active construction should be used whenever possible: They attempted to carry out the order / We can hope to enjoy no greater thrill; in some cases the sentence can be rephrased, e.g. There was an attempt to carry out the order. Other verbs, such as expect, intend, and order, which are grammatically more versatile, will allow a double passive construction; we can say, for example, They ordered the deserters to be shot, and therefore the double passive form The deserters were ordered to be shot is acceptable.
• the type she was given a watch. This use was once questioned on the grounds that the subject of the passive verb should correspond to the object of the active verb, whereas in this case she corresponds to an indirect object (They gave her a watch); but it is now a part of the language and beyond such objection.

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income or loss from activities in which a taxpayer does not materially participate, such as limited partnerships, as distinguished from (1) income from wages and active trade or business or (2) investment ( or portfolio ) income, such as dividends and interest.
Starting with the tax reform act of 1986, and after modification by the revenue reconciliation act of 1993, losses and credits from passive activities are deductible only against income and tax from passive activities, although one passive activity can offset another and unused passive losses can be carried forward until the earlier of (1) your realization of passive income to offset such losses; or (2) your sale of your entire interest in the activity, at which time suspended losses from that activity can be used without limitation. Under the 1986 Act, real estate rental activities were considered passive regardless of material par ticipation. The 1993 Act liberalized that provision for tax years after 1993 by making an exception for professionals spending at least half their time or at least 750 hours involved in real property trade or services or for anyone, apparently including a landlord, meeting the same tests of material participation. Regular corporations (as opposed to S corporations) are exempt from passive activity rules unless they are closely held.

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Next:	Passive Activity Loss (PAL), Passive Bond

adjective

Submitting without objection or resistance: acquiescent, nonresistant, resigned, submissive. See resist/yield.

adj

Definition: lifeless, inactive
Antonyms: active, assertive, dynamic, lively

Inactive; usually used to describe permissive behavior, such as toleration of or failure to correct a dangerous condition on one’s property as opposed to an affi rmative act threatening the safety of another.
passive income in tax law, passive income, such as a dividend, is a separate category from active income.

(DOD, NATO) In surveillance, an adjective applied to actions or equipments which emit no energy capable of being detected.

IN BRIEF: Not active, but acted upon.

It is better to take an active role in life, not a passive one. — Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986), American journalist and writer.

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Neither spontaneous on the part of the patient, nor active response by the patient, the stimulus having been applied externally.

• p. cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) test — see passive cutaneous anaphylaxis.
• p. diffusion — passage of electrolytes to all parts of a solution, including through a permeable membrane. Plays some part in intestinal absorption.
• p. hemagglutination test — see hemagglutination test.
• p. immunization — see passive immunization.
• p. neonatal immunity — see passive immunity.
• p. transfer — see passive diffusion (above).
• p. venous congestion — noninflammatory distention of vessels with blood. Caused by simple accumulation resulting from obstruction or failure of the heart to eject the full volume of blood returned to it.

n

Referring to an orthodontic appliance that has been adjusted to apply no effective tooth-moving force to the teeth.

For a list of words related to passive, see:

• Introverted, Reserved, Isolated, or Mysterious
• Inert, Lazy, Tired, or Insensate
• Calm, Gentle, or Easygoing

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See words rhyming with "passive."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Passive .

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - passiv
n. - passiv

idioms:

• passive resistance    passiv modstand
• passive smoking    passiv rygning
• passive voice    passiv

Nederlands (Dutch)
passief, renteloos (schuld), lijdend, lui

Français (French)
adj. - passif
n. - (Ling) le passif, la voix passive

idioms:

• passive resistance    résistance passive
• passive smoking    tabagisme passif
• passive voice    la voix passive

Deutsch (German)
n. - Passiv
adj. - passiv, widerstandslos, teilnahmslos

idioms:

• passive resistance    passiver Widerstand
• passive smoking    passives Rauchen
• passive voice    Passiv

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (γραμμ.) παθητική φωνή
adj. - απαθής, παθητικός, αδρανής, (γραμμ.) της παθητικής φωνής

idioms:

• passive resistance    παθητική αντίσταση
• passive smoking    παθητικό κάπνισμα
• passive voice    παθητική φωνή

Italiano (Italian)
passivo

idioms:

• passive resistance    resistenza passiva
• passive smoking    fumo passivo
• the passive voice    il passivo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - passivo (m), inativo (m)
adj. - passivo, inativo

idioms:

• passive resistance    resistência passiva
• passive smoking    respira fumaça do cigarro de terceiros
• the passive voice    a voz passiva

Русский (Russian)
страдательный залог, пассивный

idioms:

• passive resistance    пассивное сопротивление
• passive smoking    пассивное курение
• the passive voice    страдательный залог

Español (Spanish)
adj. - pasivo, inactivo, inerte
n. - voz pasiva

idioms:

• passive resistance    resistencia pasiva
• passive smoking    fumador pasivo
• passive voice    voz pasiva

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - passivum
adj. - overksam, viljelös

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
消极的, 被动的, 被动语态, 被动态的动词

idioms:

• passive resistance    消极抵抗
• passive smoking    间接吸烟, 被动吸烟
• passive voice    被动式, 被动态

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 消極的, 被動的
n. - 被動語態, 被動態的動詞

idioms:

• passive resistance    消極抵抗
• passive smoking    間接吸煙, 被動吸煙
• passive voice    被動式, 被動態

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 수동의, 무저항의, 활동적이 아닌
n. - (문법) 수동태

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 受身の, 受動的な, 逆らわない, おとなしい, 受動態の

idioms:

• passive resistance    消極的抵抗
• passive smoking    自然吸煙
• the passive voice    受動態

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سلبي, غير فعال, جامد الإحساس, , عديم التأثر (صفه) كسول, خامل, عديم النشاط, مستسلم, غير مقاوم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮סביל, אדיש, נעדר-יוזמה, בלתי-פעיל, פסיבי‬
n. - ‮צורת הסביל (דקדוק)‬

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