passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.
PASSIVE definition: not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling. See examples of passive used in a sentence.
'Catrin told me' is an active sentence, and 'I was told by Catrin' is passive. In a passive sentence, the subject is the person or thing affected by the action of the verb.
Used to describe a form of verb in which the grammatical subject is the object of the action, for example, the sentence “The government took steps.” in the passive would be Steps were taken by the government.”
(grammar) Being in the passive voice. (psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one. (finance) Not participating in management. (aviation) Without motive power.
In grammar, the passive or the passive voice is formed using `be' and the past participle of a verb. The subject of a passive clause does not perform the action expressed by the verb but is affected by it.
Grammar (opposed to active) of, relating to, or being a voice, verb form, or construction that expresses an action that is done to rather than by the subject: In a passive sentence, the subject undergoes the action of the verb but does not perform it.
Do you know how to use the passive voice to change the focus of a sentence? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.
Definition of passive adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. accepting what happens or what people do without trying to change anything or oppose them. He played a passive role in the relationship. She wore a passive expression on her face as if she didn’t care what happened.
There are 26 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word passive, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
