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passive

[pas-iv] / ˈpæs ɪv /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Scientists measure Antarctic sea ice using satellites equipped with instruments called passive microwave sensors.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

It’s up to Batter to decide whether he will remain a passive character in his own story, or risk decisive action.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

This week the Tampa Bay Rays rolled into big, bad Yankee Stadium, put their feet on the couch, and swept the passive, punchless Pinstripes out of the postseason.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

It makes sense to give a chunk of money to your kids, put several other chunks aside for investments, retire in place and enjoy that passive income.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

Their pictures were featured prominently on posters, newspapers, and magazines—generating passive support for a national eugenics movement.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

In the case of “have died”, though, neither patients nor passives come into it.

From Economist ● May 24, 2018

Promoters, passives and detractors have vastly different economic value to most companies.

From Forbes ● Sep. 20, 2012

In their attitude toward integration, Little Rock's Protestant and Jewish clergymen can be classified as "pushers," "powers" and "passives."

From Time Magazine Archive

It’s in the third person, and filled with zombie nouns like Extreme Exposure and passives like are more easily affected.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

That’s why guidelines on how to avoid legalese and other turbid professional styles call for using first- and second-person pronouns, inverting passives into actives, and letting verbs be verbs rather than zombie nouns.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker


Vocabulary lists containing passive

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