Pās'sive, a.
a. [Lat. passivus, from pati, passus, to suffer; It. passivo, Sp. pasivo, Pr. passiu, Fr. passif.]
Sense 1. Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene.
The mind is wholly passive in the reception of all its simple ideas.
God is not in any respect passive. Locke.
Sense 2. Incapable of the excitement or emotion which is appropriate; receiving or suffering without resistance; not opposing; unresisting; as, passive obedience; passive submission to the laws.
Passive commerce, trade in which the productions of a country are carried by foreigners in their own ships. See ACTIVE COMMERCE. — Passive obedience, as used by writers on government, the doctrine that it is the duty of the subject or citizen to submit, in all cases, to the existing government. — Passive prayer, among mystic divines, a suspension of the activity of the soul or intellectual faculties, the soul remaining quiet, and yielding only to the impulses of grace. — Passive verb (Gram.), a verb which expresses passion, or the effect of an action of some agent; as, in Latin, doceor, I am taught; in English, she is loved and admired by her friends; he is assailed by slander.
Synonyms— Inactive; inert; quiescent; unresisting; suffering; enduring; submissive; patient.