"passive" in the noun sense
1. passive voice, passive
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"
"passive" in the adjective sense
1. passive, inactive
lacking in energy or will
"Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself"- George Meredith
2. passive, peaceful
peacefully resistant in response to injustice
"passive resistance"
3. passive
expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb
"academics seem to favor passive sentences"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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