Passive — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

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

lacking in energy or will; - George Meredith

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pˈæsɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/pˈasɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pˈasɪv/

2 syllables Say it as /pˈæsɪv/.

Examples

`The ball was thrown by the boy' uses the passive voice
`The ball was thrown' is an abbreviated passive
Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

peaceful passive voice inactive

Antonyms

active voice active

Parts of Speech

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”
adjective	lacking in energy or will; - George Meredith “Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself”
adjective	peacefully resistant in response to injustice “passive resistance”
adjective	expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb “academics seem to favor passive sentences”

Word Forms

passive	adjective	expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb
passivity	noun	the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative
passiveness	noun	the trait of remaining inactive; a lack of initiative
inactiveness	noun	a disposition to remain inactive or inert
inactivity	noun	a disposition to remain inactive or inert
peacefulness	noun	a state that is calm and tranquil
passive	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

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

passiv

die Stimme, die verwendet wird, um anzuzeigen, dass das grammatikalische Subjekt des Verbs der Empfänger (nicht die Quelle) der durch das Verb bezeichneten Aktion ist

🇫🇷French

passif

la voix utilisée pour indiquer que le sujet grammatical du verbe est le destinataire (et non la source) de l'action désignée par le verbe

🇪🇸Spanish

pasivo

la voz utilizada para indicar que el sujeto gramatical del verbo es el destinatario (no la fuente) de la acción denotada por el verbo

🇮🇹Italian

passivo

la voce usata per indicare che il soggetto grammaticale del verbo è il destinatario (non la fonte) dell'azione denotata dal verbo

🇳🇱Dutch

passief

de stem die wordt gebruikt om aan te geven dat het grammaticale onderwerp van het werkwoord de ontvanger (niet de bron) is van de actie die door het werkwoord wordt aangegeven

🇵🇹Portuguese

passiva

a voz usada para indicar que o sujeito gramatical do verbo é o destinatário (não a fonte) da ação denotada pelo verbo

🇷🇺Russian

пассивный

залог, используемый для обозначения того, что грамматический субъект глагола является получателем (а не источником) действия, обозначаемого глаголом

India

🇮🇳Hindi

निष्क्रिय

ध्वनि का उपयोग यह इंगित करने के लिए किया जाता है कि क्रिया का व्याकरणिक विषय क्रिया द्वारा निरूपित क्रिया का प्राप्तकर्ता (स्रोत नहीं) है

🇧🇩Bengali

নিষ্ক্রিয়

কণ্ঠস্বর নির্দেশ করতে ব্যবহৃত হয় যে ক্রিয়ার ব্যাকরণগত বিষয় হল ক্রিয়া দ্বারা চিহ্নিত কর্মের প্রাপক (উৎস নয়)

🇮🇳Tamil

செயலற்ற

வினைச்சொல்லின் இலக்கணப் பொருள் வினைச்சொல்லால் குறிக்கப்படும் செயலின் பெறுநர் (மூலமல்ல) என்பதைக் குறிக்கப் பயன்படுத்தப்படும் குரல்

🇮🇳Telugu

నిష్క్రియ

క్రియ యొక్క వ్యాకరణ విషయం క్రియ ద్వారా సూచించబడిన చర్య యొక్క గ్రహీత (మూలం కాదు) అని సూచించడానికి ఉపయోగించే స్వరం

🇮🇳Marathi

निष्क्रिय

क्रियापदाचा व्याकरणाचा विषय हा क्रियापदाद्वारे दर्शविलेल्या क्रियेचा प्राप्तकर्ता (स्रोत नाही) आहे हे दर्शविण्यासाठी वापरलेला आवाज

🇮🇳Gujarati

નિષ્ક્રિય

ક્રિયાપદનો વ્યાકરણ વિષયક ક્રિયાપદ દ્વારા સૂચિત ક્રિયાનો પ્રાપ્તકર્તા (સ્રોત નહીં) છે તે દર્શાવવા માટે વપરાતો અવાજ

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಿಷ್ಕ್ರಿಯ

ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದದ ವ್ಯಾಕರಣದ ವಿಷಯವು ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದದಿಂದ ಸೂಚಿಸಲಾದ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಯ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸುವವರು (ಮೂಲವಲ್ಲ) ಎಂದು ಸೂಚಿಸಲು ಬಳಸುವ ಧ್ವನಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിഷ്ക്രിയ

ക്രിയയുടെ വ്യാകരണ വിഷയം ക്രിയയാൽ സൂചിപ്പിച്ച പ്രവർത്തനത്തിൻ്റെ സ്വീകർത്താവാണ് (ഉറവിടമല്ല) എന്ന് സൂചിപ്പിക്കാൻ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന ശബ്ദം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪੈਸਿਵ

ਇਹ ਦਰਸਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਵਰਤੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਆਵਾਜ਼ ਕਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਆ ਦਾ ਵਿਆਕਰਨਿਕ ਵਿਸ਼ਾ ਕ੍ਰਿਆ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਦਰਸਾਈ ਗਈ ਕਿਰਿਆ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤਕਰਤਾ (ਸਰੋਤ ਨਹੀਂ) ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

غیر فعال

وہ آواز جو اس بات کی نشاندہی کرنے کے لیے استعمال ہوتی ہے کہ فعل کا گرائمیکل مضمون فعل کے ذریعہ بیان کردہ عمل کا وصول کنندہ (ماخذ نہیں) ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

被动的

用于指示动词的语法主语是动词所表示的动作的接受者（而不是来源）的声音

🇯🇵Japanese

受け身

動詞の文法上の主語が、その動詞が示す動作の受信者（発信元ではない）であることを示すために使用される音声

🇰🇷Korean

수동적인

동사의 문법적 주어가 동사가 나타내는 동작의 수신자(출처가 아님)임을 나타내는 데 사용되는 음성

🇻🇳Vietnamese

thụ động

giọng nói được sử dụng để chỉ ra rằng chủ ngữ ngữ pháp của động từ là người nhận (không phải nguồn) của hành động được biểu thị bởi động từ

🇹🇭Thai

เฉยๆ

เสียงที่ใช้ระบุว่าประธานของกริยาเป็นผู้รับ (ไม่ใช่ต้นทาง) ของการกระทำที่แสดงด้วยกริยา

🇮🇩Indonesian

pasif

suara yang digunakan untuk menunjukkan bahwa subjek gramatikal dari kata kerja adalah penerima (bukan sumber) dari tindakan yang dilambangkan dengan kata kerja

🇲🇾Malay

pasif

suara yang digunakan untuk menunjukkan bahawa subjek tatabahasa kata kerja ialah penerima (bukan sumber) tindakan yang dilambangkan oleh kata kerja

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

سلبي

الصوت المستخدم للإشارة إلى أن الفاعل النحوي للفعل هو المتلقي (وليس المصدر) للفعل الذي يدل عليه الفعل

🇮🇷Persian

منفعل

صدایی که برای نشان دادن اینکه فاعل دستوری فعل گیرنده (نه منبع) عملی است که با فعل مشخص شده است استفاده می شود.

🇹🇷Turkish

pasif

fiilin gramer konusunun, fiilin gösterdiği eylemin alıcısı (kaynağı değil) olduğunu belirtmek için kullanılan ses

🇮🇱Hebrew

פַּסִיבִי

הקול המשמש לציון שהנושא הדקדוקי של הפועל הוא הנמען (לא המקור) של הפעולה המסומנת על ידי הפועל

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'passive'?

The primary meaning of 'passive' is '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'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'passive' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'passive' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'passive' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'passive' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'passive' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'passive' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'passive' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'passive' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'passive' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'passive' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted