Added 9 October 2026
passive
/ˈpæs.ɪv/ noun
Latin root: passivus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about passive at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
adjective
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Lacking in energy or will.
Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself
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Peacefully resistant in response to injustice.
passive resistance
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Expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb.
academics seem to favor passive sentences
Origin
From Middle English passyf, passyve, from Middle French, French passif, from Latin passivus (“serving to express the suffering of an action; in late Latin literally capable of suffering or feeling”), from passus, past participle of pati (“to suffer”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- (“to hurt”); compare patient.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)