different between passive vs listless

English

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”); compare patient.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: p?s?-?v, IPA^(key): /?pæs.?v/
• Rhymes: -æs?v
• Hyphenation: pas?sive

Adjective

passive (comparative more passive, superlative most passive)

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.

   Antonym: active

Synonyms

• inactive
• idle
• disinterested
• uninvolved

Antonyms

• active
• aggressive

Derived terms

Related terms

• passion
• passionate
• patience
• patient

Translations

Noun

passive (plural passives)

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.
   • 2014, Roy Barnes, Bob Kelleher, Customer Experience For Dummies (page 266)

     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.

4. (electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
   • 2001, The Virginia Engineer (volume 50, page 20)

     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.

   • 2010, Sridhar Canumalla, Puligandla Viswanadham, Portable Consumer Electronics: Packaging, Materials, and Reliability

     The components include active devices such as logic, memory, processors, etc.; passives such as capacitors, resistors, crystal oscillators, inductances, etc.; […]

Translations

Further reading

• passive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• passive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• pavises

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.siv/

Adjective

passive

1. feminine singular of passif

Verb

passive

1. first-person singular present indicative of passiver
2. third-person singular present indicative of passiver
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of passiver
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of passiver
5. second-person singular imperative of passiver

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

passive

1. inflection of passiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pas.?si.ve/, [pas.si?.ve]
• Hyphenation: pas?sì?ve

Adjective

passive f pl

1. feminine plural of passivo

Anagrams

• spesavi

Middle English

Adjective

passive

1. Alternative form of passyf

Noun

passive

1. Alternative form of passyf

English

Etymology

From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) +? -less. Compare Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?stl?s/

Adjective

listless (comparative more listless, superlative most listless)

1. Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
   • 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, ch. 18:

     I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless.

   • 1861, Charlotte M. Yonge, The Stokesley Secret, ch. 6:

     What an entirely different set of beings were those Stokesley children in lesson-time. . . . Poor, listless, stolid, deplorable logs, with bowed backs and crossed ankles, pipy voices and heavy eyes!

   • 1901, William Somerset Maugham, The Hero, ch. 21:

     The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened.

   • 2005 Nov. 29, Aryn Baker, "John Hardy: Bali Guy," Time:

     “Listless, inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.”

Derived terms

• listlessly
• listlessness

Translations

Anagrams

• slitless