Passive voice

Passive voice
Passive Pas"sive, a. [L. passivus: cf. F. passif. See {Passion}.] 1. Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene. [1913 Webster]

The passive air Upbore their nimble tread. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

The mind is wholly passive in the reception of all its simple ideas. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

2. Receiving or enduring without either active sympathy or active resistance; without emotion or excitement; patient; not opposing; unresisting; as, passive obedience; passive submission. [1913 Webster]

The best virtue, passive fortitude. --Massinger. [1913 Webster]

3. (Chem.) Inactive; inert; not showing strong affinity; as, red phosphorus is comparatively passive. [1913 Webster]

4. (Med.) Designating certain morbid conditions, as hemorrhage or dropsy, characterized by relaxation of the vessels and tissues, with deficient vitality and lack of reaction in the affected tissues. [1913 Webster]

{Passive congestion} (Med.), congestion due to obstruction to the return of the blood from the affected part.

{Passive iron} (Chem.), iron which has been subjected to the action of heat, of strong nitric acid, chlorine, etc. It is then not easily acted upon by acids.

{Passive movement} (Med.), a movement of a part, in order to exercise it, made without the assistance of the muscles which ordinarily move the part.

{Passive obedience} (as used by writers on government), obedience or submission of the subject or citizen as a duty in all cases to the existing government.

{Passive prayer}, among mystic divines, a suspension of the activity of the soul or intellectual faculties, the soul remaining quiet, and yielding only to the impulses of grace.

{Passive verb}, or {Passive voice} (Gram.), a verb, or form of a verb, which expresses the effect of the action of some agent; as, in Latin, doceor, I am taught; in English, she is loved; the picture is admired by all; he is assailed by slander. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Inactive; inert; quiescent; unresisting; unopposing; suffering; enduring; submissive; patient. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Passive voice — Voice Voice, n. [OE. vois, voys, OF. vois, voiz, F. voix, L. vox, vocis, akin to Gr. ? a word, ? a voice, Skr. vac to say, to speak, G. erw[ a]hnen to mention. Cf. {Advocate}, {Advowson}, {Avouch}, {Convoke}, {Epic}, {Vocal}, {Vouch}, {Vowel}.] 1 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • passive voice — passive .voice n [singular] the ↑passive 2 …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • passive voice — noun the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb The ball was thrown by the boy uses the passive voice The ball was thrown is an abbreviated passive • Syn …   Useful english dictionary

  • passive voice — noun a) The form of a transitive verb in which its subject receives the action. The passive voice is sometimes criticized for de emphasizing the actor. b) Any construction that obscures the agent of an action, or the agency of said agent. Many… …   Wiktionary

  • passive voice — voice which is not active in grammar, passive form of a transitive verb (Grammar) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • ˌpassive ˈvoice, the — see passive …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • passive voice — noun (singular) the passive2 …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • passive voice —   Leo pili ia mai. See verb …   English-Hawaiian dictionary

  • English passive voice — This article is about the passive voice in English. For the passive voice generally, including its use in other languages, see Passive voice. English grammar series English grammar Contraction Disputes in English grammar English compound English… …   Wikipedia

  • Impersonal passive voice — The impersonal passive voice is a verb voice that decreases the valency of an intransitive verb (which has valency one) to zero.The impersonal passive deletes the subject of an intransitive verb. In place of the verb s subject, the construction… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”