passive

Word family

Related topics: Grammar

pas·sive1 /ˈpæsɪv/ AWL adjectiveadj

1 ACCEPTsomeone who is passive tends to accept things that happen to them or things that people say to them, without taking any action 被动的；消极的；顺从的 → impassive

Kathy seems to take a very passive role in the relationship.

凯茜在这一关系中似乎扮演着十分被动的角色。

their passive acceptance of their fate

他们对命运的消极接受

2. technicalSLG a passive verb or sentence has as its subject the person or thing to which an action is done, as in ‘His father was killed in a car accident.’ 〔动词或句子〕被动的 → active1(6)

—passively adverbadv

He listened passively as his sentence was read out.

宣布对他的判决时他只是被动地听着。

—passivity /pæˈsɪvəti/ noun [uncountableU]

Examples from the Corpus

passive• Emma plays far too passive a role in group discussions.• Explain the difference between the passive and active voice and wordy and concise word use as objectively as possible.• For decades it has cowed public employees, left them docile, passive, and bitter.• You're too passive, Harry. You should just tell her you don't want to go.• Heat-sensing passive infra-red detectors with a fifty-feet range.• The student's role in a traditional classroom learning environment is a passive one.• The second, 1 Cor 6: 9-11, speaks about both the active and the passive participants in homosexual activity.• Her licentiousness was entirely passive, reflecting not her own desires but those of the man she was with.• An analysis of the 1987 survey was undertaken to estimate the dose-response relations of height and respiratory symptoms to passive smoking.• Duffy refuses to fall into the trap of spoon-feeding the material to passive students, which only increases their passivity.• The story's main female character is shown as an attractive but rather passive woman.

passive2 AWL noun

the passive technicalSLG the passive form of a verb, for example ‘was destroyed’ in the sentence ‘The building was destroyed during the war.’ 〔动词的〕被动式，被动语态

→ active2

Examples from the Corpus

passive• When the acted-upon was thematic, 155 passives were produced, but when the actor was thematic, only 44 were produced.• However subsequent research has shown that both negatives and passives are used in response to the presence of particular pragmatic factors.• The number of passives produced in response to the different pictures varied considerably.• In fact, the passive has two particular advantages and these provide the reasons for its most characteristic uses.

From Longman Business Dictionary

passivepas·sive /ˈpæsɪv/ adjectiveadj [only before a noun]

1FINANCE passive investment activities are those in which the investor does not take part in making management decisions in the company they invest in, for example by being on its BOARD

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission is considering changing its rule limiting passive institutional investing.

2passive electronic equipment, machines etc do not contain electrical power and are therefore only able to receive signals, not send them

The invention improves the video capability ofpassive liquid crystal displays.

3FINANCE passive investing is when an investor buys shares and waits for their value to increase over a long period of time, rather than often buying and selling shares as their value changes

Passive investing requires good initial research, patience, and a well-diversified portfolio.

Origin passive1

(1300-1400) Latin passivus, from pati; → PASSION

pas·sive1 adjectiveadjpassive2 noun

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