| passive resistance | |
| —n | |
| resistance to a government, law, etc, made without violence, as by fasting, demonstrating peacefully, or refusing to cooperate | |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
A technique of demonstrating opposition to a government's activities simply by not cooperating with them. It is particularly associated with Mahatma Gandhi, who opposed violent revolution in his own country's fight for independence. (Compare civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance.)