Passive

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈpæs.ɪv/

Definitions

1. Not actively participating or engaging in an action, but rather accepting or enduring something without resistance or response
2. Not taking an active role in events, instead allowing things to occur without intervention or showing resistance or initiative
3. Refraining from exerting influence or action, typically characterized by a lack of response or initiative

Etymology: The most striking thing about "passive" is how close it sits to "patient." Both come from the Latin verb "pati," meaning "to suffer," and the adjective "passivus" originally described grammar and philosophy rather than personality. In late Latin it meant capable of suffering or feeling, the sense of being acted upon rather than acting. That is the root of the modern grammatical "passive voice," where the subject receives the action, as in "the window was broken." The word reached English through Middle French "passif," and the Middle English forms "passyf" and "passyve" carried the same idea of receiving rather than doing. Over time the sense shifted from suffering something to simply not acting, so a passive person is one who lets events happen without intervening or pushing back.

Synonyms: inactive, submissive, unresisting, docile, compliant

Antonyms: active, aggressive, assertive, dynamic, forceful