1
as in acquiescence
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2
as in inertia
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of passivity
None of his subjects question this way of thinking, and their zomboid passivity ultimately feels more creepy than charming.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
Riddled by insecurities and passivity, George is a modern guy whose self-sabotaging behavior has cost him his job, his boyfriend, and his happiness.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 24 Feb. 2026
Ultimately, Sonnenfeld warned stakeholders against passivity.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 18 Feb. 2026
Real niceness isn’t people-pleasing or passivity.
—Kelly Ehlers, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for passivity
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
Riddled by insecurities and passivity, George is a modern guy whose self-sabotaging behavior has cost him his job, his boyfriend, and his happiness.
—Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 24 Feb. 2026
Ultimately, Sonnenfeld warned stakeholders against passivity.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 18 Feb. 2026
Real niceness isn’t people-pleasing or passivity.
—Kelly Ehlers, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for passivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passivity
Noun
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This is a story that traces the path to justice for mass atrocity in the face of public acquiescence.—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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Kelley, Offerman, Fanning, and especially Pfeiffer do enough of the hard work to make acquiescence rather easy — and the ensuing journey a worthy reward.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The film meticulously depicts inertia and zero-gravity movement.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
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Larger tires increase rotational inertia and lengthen the lever arm between hub and road, forcing the braking system to work harder.—
Bryan Rogala,
Outside,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
-
In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Other barriers to having home-cooked, nutritious food could include lack of motivation, medications or losing the sense of taste or smell that may lead to apathy about food.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
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There was a pervasive sense of cultural apathy regarding the study of the past that was growing stronger by the minute, as if the world had already accrued the maximum knowledge of prior civilizations and required nothing further in order to barrel onward into the future.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In spite of a seismic crossing of the technological Rubicon, an abandonment of the centuries-old deference to the naked eye, a codifying and calcifying of the most atomic-level building block of the sport, baseball mostly just looked like baseball.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
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In Syria, Russia positioned itself between Iran and Israel, using its S-400 missile system to control the skies and leveraging that control to extract deference from both sides.—
Joseph Epstein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Growth requires humility, not defensiveness.—
Johnny C. Taylor Jr,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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The wolf is humility, and the turtle is truth.—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Their apps seem clearly designed, much like TikTok and Candy Crush, to keep users scrolling and tapping in a hypnotic stupor.—
McKay Coppins,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2026
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Patrons — many just as panicked and some in a drunken stupor — ran by her.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Such meekness is understandable from him.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Feb. 2026
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Likewise, meekness once meant not becoming weak, but subjugating power to reason – not letting anger take control.—
Timothy J. Pawl,
The Conversation,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passivity. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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