Meaning of passive In English

• 0 not acting to influence or change a situation; allowing other people to be in control:

  • He's very passive in the relationship.

  • Traditionally in many professions women have been confined to more passive roles.

• 1 The passive form of a verb is being used when the grammatical subject is the person or thing that experiences the effect of an action, rather than the person or thing that causes the effect:

  • 'He was released from prison' is a passive sentence.

  • In the sentence "He was hit by the ball", "was hit" is in the passive voice.

• 2 the form of a verb used when the grammatical subject is the person or thing that experiences the effect of an action, rather than the person or thing that causes the effect:

  • When changed into the passive, "The dog chased the cat" becomes "The cat was chased by the dog".

• 3 not reacting to what happens, or not acting or taking part:

  • They attack people who are too weak or too passive to resist.

• 4 describing a verb or sentence in which the subject is the person or thing to which something stated is done:

  • In the sentence "I was given a gift by Alex," the verb "give" is passive, or in the passive voice.

• 5 not acting to influence or change a situation, but allowing others to be in control:

  • One of the interviewers asked most of the questions, and the other took a more passive role.

  • Interactive TV technology makes passive viewers into active participants.