pas'sivity

World English Dictionary

passive (ˈpæsɪv)

—*adj*
1.	not active or not participating perceptibly in an activity, organization, etc
2.	unresisting and receptive to external forces; submissive
3.	not working or operating
4.	affected or acted upon by an external object or force
5.	grammar Compare active denoting a voice of verbs in sentences in which the grammatical subject is not the logical subject but rather the recipient of the action described by the verb, as was broken in the sentence The glass was broken by a boy
6.	chem (of a substance, esp a metal) apparently chemically unreactive, usually as a result of the formation of a thin protective layer that prevents further reaction
7.	electronics, telecomm
	a. containing no source of power and therefore capable only of attenuating a signal: a passive network
	b. not capable of amplifying a signal or controlling a function: a passive communications satellite
8.	finance (of a bond, share, debt, etc) yielding no interest

—n
9.	grammar
	a. the passive voice
	b. a passive verb

[C14: from Latin passīvus susceptible of suffering, from patī to undergo]

'passively

—*adv*

pas'sivity

—n

'passiveness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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