as in resigned
receiving or enduring without offering resistance
the union rank and file were surprisingly passive about the givebacks in the new labor contract
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Recent Examples of passive
But if Cherington takes a passive approach, declining to leverage his ample supply of pitchers to acquire impact hitters, Nutting could fire him for a different reason — failing to put the team in better position for 2026.
—
Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 29 July 2025
The lawsuit’s goal is to ensure enforcement of the deed restrictions, which call for passive, non-commercial recreational uses not involving large assemblages of people or cars.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2025
For allocators long boxed out by regulatory gray zones, the arrival of compliant, onshore tools marks a shift from passive access to active positioning, and the adoption has been swift.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 July 2025
Employees become co-creators of innovation rather than passive recipients of change.
—Sunny Nandwani, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for passive
Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 29 July 2025
The lawsuit’s goal is to ensure enforcement of the deed restrictions, which call for passive, non-commercial recreational uses not involving large assemblages of people or cars.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2025
For allocators long boxed out by regulatory gray zones, the arrival of compliant, onshore tools marks a shift from passive access to active positioning, and the adoption has been swift.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 July 2025
Employees become co-creators of innovation rather than passive recipients of change.
—Sunny Nandwani, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for passive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passive
Adjective
-
As new members have replaced the resigned ones, the board has ramped up focus on policies around LGBTQ+ students, dress codes and health curriculum.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
11 July 2025
-
If 28 Days Later presaged our post-9/11 paranoia and dread, 28 Years Later settles into the resigned gloom of our modern age, where everything is rubbish and only getting worse.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Life will be much easier for the AI maker by forcing the AI to be fully obedient.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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Tatras are a large livestock guardian breed originating from the Tatra Mountains in Poland, while golden retrievers are a popular choice as family pets due to their gentle and obedient nature.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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Where Chelsea’s domestic overseers have been largely acquiescent to their accounting ingenuity, the same can’t be said abroad.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Netanyahu appears convinced that his country’s security, along with his own political survival, depends on prolonging the military offensives and keeping both Gaza and Lebanon ungovernable, and therefore acquiescent.—
Mohanad Hage Ali,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Passive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passive. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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