passive

Etymology

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.

adj

1. Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
2. Taking no action.
   He remained passive during the protest.
3. (grammar) Being in the passive voice.
4. (psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
5. (finance) Not participating in management.
6. (aviation) Without motive power.
   a passive balloon; a passive aeroplane; passive flight, such as gliding and soaring
7. (electronics) Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
8. (passive provision) Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
   There would be a shuttle service of four trains an hour from Reading, where the rebuilt station also has passive provision for the trains. May 5 2021, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Heathrow Western Rail Access scheme 'on hold'”, in RAIL, number 930, page 26

noun

1. (grammar) The passive voice of verbs.
2. (grammar) A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.
3. (marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.
   If you want to improve your organization's NPS, you need to follow up with your detractors, passives, and promoters to understand why they answered your question as they did and what you can do better in the future. 2014, Roy Barnes, Bob Kelleher, Customer Experience For Dummies, page 266
4. (electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
   Reductions In Both Size And Weight Offered By Integrated Passives You may not know it yet, but if you're like most consumers, you want integrated passives. 2001, The Virginia Engineer, volume 50, page 20
   The components include active devices such as logic, memory, processors, etc.; passives such as capacitors, resistors, crystal oscillators, inductances, etc.; […] 2010, Sridhar Canumalla, Puligandla Viswanadham, Portable Consumer Electronics: Packaging, Materials, and Reliability