passive

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• UK, US: păsʹ-ĭv
  Play
• UK, US: /ˈpæs.ɪv/
  Play
• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play
• rhymes with -æsɪv
  Play
• CMU ARPABET: P AE1 S IH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  Play

From Middle English passyf, passyve, from Middle French, French passif, from Latin passivus (“serving to express the suffering of an action; in late Latin literally capable of suffering or feeling”), from passus, past participle of pati (“to suffer”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh1- (“to hurt”); compare patient.

127 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Aramaic: ܚܵܫܘܿܫܵܐ (ḥāšōšā) — not active, but acted upon
• Belarusian: пасы́ўны (pasýwny) — not active, but acted upon
• Bulgarian: паси́вен (pasíven) — not active, but acted upon
• Catalan: passiu — not active, but acted upon
• Chinese Mandarin: 消極 /消极 (xiāojí) — not active, but acted upon
• Czech: pasivní — not active, but acted upon
• Dutch: passief — not active, but acted upon
• Estonian: loid — not active, but acted upon
• Finnish: passiivinen — not active, but acted upon
• French: passif — not active, but acted upon
• German: passiv — not active, but acted upon
• Ancient Greek: παθητικός (pathētikós) — not active, but acted upon
• Hindi: निष्क्रिय (niṣkriya) — not active, but acted upon
• Hungarian: passzív — not active, but acted upon
• Italian: passivo — not active, but acted upon
• Japanese: 受動的 (judōteki) — not active, but acted upon
• Japanese: 受け身 (ukemi) — not active, but acted upon
• Lithuanian: pasyvus — not active, but acted upon
• Middle English: passyf — not active, but acted upon
• Old English: þrowiendlīċ — not active, but acted upon
• Persian: منفعل (monfa'el) — not active, but acted upon
• Persian: پاسیو (pâsiv) — not active, but acted upon
• Polish: bierny — not active, but acted upon
• Portuguese: passivo — not active, but acted upon
• Romanian: pasiv — not active, but acted upon
• Russian: пасси́вный (passívnyj) — not active, but acted upon
• Slovak: pasívny — not active, but acted upon
• Spanish: pasivo — not active, but acted upon
• Swedish: passiv — not active, but acted upon
• Ukrainian: паси́вний (pasývnyj) — not active, but acted upon
• Vietnamese: bị động — not active, but acted upon
• Bulgarian: бездеен (bezdeen) — taking no action
• Dutch: passief — taking no action
• Estonian: loid — taking no action
• Finnish: passiivinen — taking no action
• German: passiv — taking no action
• Irish: fulangach — taking no action
• Middle English: passyf — taking no action
• Norwegian: passiv — taking no action
• Persian: پاسیو (pâsiv) — taking no action
• Polish: bierny — taking no action
• Portuguese: passivo — taking no action
• Russian: пасси́вный (passívnyj) — taking no action
• Russian: безде́ятельный (bezdéjatelʹnyj) — taking no action
• Slovak: pasívny — taking no action
• Slovak: nečinný — taking no action
• Swedish: passiv — taking no action
• Vietnamese: thụ động — taking no action
• Albanian: pësor — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Arabic: مَبْنِيٌّ لِلْمَجْهُول (mabniyyun lilmajhūl) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Aramaic: ܚܵܫܘܿܫܵܐ (ḥāšōšā) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Armenian: կրավորական (kravorakan) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Azerbaijani: məchul — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Belarusian: зале́жны (zaljéžny) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Belarusian: пасы́ўны (pasýwny) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Bulgarian: страда́телен (stradátelen) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Bulgarian: паси́вен (pasíven) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Chinese Mandarin: 被動 /被动 (bèidòng) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Czech: trpný — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Danish: passiv — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Dutch: lijdend — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Dutch: lijdelijk — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Dutch: passief — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Estonian: passiiv — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Finnish: passiivinen — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Finnish: passiivimuotoinen — grammar: being in the passive voice
• French: passif — grammar: being in the passive voice
• German: leidend — grammar: being in the passive voice
• German: leidentlich — grammar: being in the passive voice
• German: passiv — grammar: being in the passive voice
• German: passivisch — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Greek: παθητική (pathitikí) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Ancient Greek: παθητικός (pathētikós) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Hungarian: szenvedő — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Irish: céasta — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Italian: passivo — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Japanese: 受動態 (judōtai) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Kannada: ಕರ್ಮಣಿ (karmaṇi) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Kazakh: ырықсыз (yryqsyz) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Korean: 수동태 (sudongtae) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Macedonian: пасивен (pasiven) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Middle English: passyf — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Norwegian: passiv — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Persian: مجهول (majhul) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Polish: bierny — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Portuguese: passivo — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Russian: страда́тельный (stradátelʹnyj) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Russian: пасси́вный (passívnyj) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Scottish Gaelic: fulangach — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Serbo-Croatian: трпни — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Serbo-Croatian: пасиван — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Serbo-Croatian: trpni — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Serbo-Croatian: pasivan — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Slovak: trpný — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Slovene: trpen — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Slovene: pasiven — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Swedish: passiv — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Tagalog: balintiyak — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Turkish: edilgen — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Turkish: pasif — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Ukrainian: паси́вний (pasývnyj) — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Vietnamese: bị động — grammar: being in the passive voice
• Chinese Mandarin: 被動 /被动 (bèidòng) — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Dutch: passief — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Finnish: passiivinen — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• German: unterwürfig — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Italian: passivo — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Navajo: hoołtsoodii — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Portuguese: passivo — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Russian: пасси́вный (passívnyj) — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Slovak: pasívny — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Spanish: pasivo — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Turkish: pasif — psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship
• Dutch: passief — finance: not bearing interest
• Finnish: koroton — finance: not bearing interest
• Dutch: passief — form of verb
• Finnish: passiivimuoto — form of verb
• Finnish: passiivi — form of verb
• German: Passiv — form of verb
• German: Passivum — form of verb
• German: passives Verb — form of verb
• German: passives Verbum — form of verb
• Latin: verbum passivum — form of verb
• Latin: verbum patiendi — form of verb
• Middle English: passyf — form of verb
• Polish: strona bierna — form of verb
• Slovak: pasívum — form of verb