• noun:   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

  Example: "`The ball was thrown by the boy' uses the passive voice"

• adjective:   peacefully resistant in response to injustice

  Example: "Passive resistance"

• adjective:   lacking in energy or will

  Example: "Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself- George Meredith"

• adjective:   expressing thatthe subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb

  Example: "Academics seem to favor passive sentences"

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