PASSIVITY


Meaning of PASSIVITY in English

paˈsivəd.ē, -ətē, -i noun

( -es )

Etymology: passive (I) + -ity

1.

a. : the quality or state of being acted upon from without : passiveness

a certain obstinate patient passivity , a certain lying back upon life — J.C.Powys

his aggressive trends were efforts to compensate for his inherent passivity — Charles Anderson

b. : an instance of passiveness : something that is passive

a vast activity of writers, a vast and hungry passivity of readers — Aldous Huxley

c.

(1) : chemically inactive state : inactivity — used especially of a metal that has lost its normal chemical activity and is resistant to corrosion

(2) : inactivity of an electrode due to polarization

2. : an absence of activity, initiative, or decisiveness : inertia

what amounts in modern battle to stupid passivity — Tom Wintringham

3. : a submission to the will of another or to outside force : submissiveness

has emerged from the passivity of defeat to seize and assert its independence — Time

4. : the construction of the passive voice : the meaning expressed by the passive voice

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.