Dictionary

passive voice en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) The form of a transitive verb in which its subject receives the action.
   • The passive voice is sometimes criticized for de-emphasizing the actor.
   • Many languages, including English, use auxiliary verbs in constructing the passive voice.
2. (proscribed, uncountable, usually) Any writing which obscures the identity of the perpetrator of an action, regardless of whether the sentence uses the passive form of a verb.
   • On Saturday, in his first response to Charlottesville, Mr. Trump condemned the violence "on many sides." Then he lapsed into the passive voice, expressing, as he has before, a sense of futility that the divisions between Americans would ever be healed. "It's been going on for a long time in our country," he said. 2017 August 17, Mark Landler, “Where Predecessors Set Moral Standard, Trump Steps Back”, in New York Times:
   • Phrases such as officer-involved shooting are often criticized as examples of passive voice.
   • Describing how the assault weapon would operate, Zworykin used the passive voice. Interactions that would have relied on both image and operator were attributed instead to airplane and camera. For example, he explains: "The carrier airplane receives the picture viewed by the torpedo while remaining at an altitude beyond artillery range." 2017 October 19, Lisa Parks, Caren Kaplan, Life in the Age of Drone Warfare, Duke University Press, →ISBN:
   • Ashby: Access to care has always been an issue in certain demographics prior to the pandemic. We talk a lot about disparities, and I actually dislike those terms: disparities and inequality, all that, yada, yada. Harris: Is it the passive voice you don't like? 2021 August 9, Mary Harris, “Newsflash: Coronavirus ain't going anywhere”, in Slate:

Forms

Antonyms

active voice

Coordinates

mediopassive voice · active voice · verb · antipassive voice · middle voice

Translations (81)

is þolmynd sagna (grammatical term) · bg страда́телен зало́г (grammatical term) · mn ᠦᠢᠯᠡᠳᠦᠭᠳᠡᠬᠦ ᠬᠡᠪ (grammatical term) · fi passiivi (grammatical term) · sh па̀сӣв (grammatical term) · sk pasívum (grammatical term) · af lydende vorm (grammatical term) · sk trpný rod (grammatical term) · nl passief (grammatical term) · ro diateză pasivă (grammatical term) · et umbisikuline tegumood (grammatical term) · sh trpno stanje (grammatical term) · sh pàsīv (grammatical term) · is þolmynd (grammatical term) · ja 受身 (grammatical term) · kk ырықсыз етіс (grammatical term) · da passiv (grammatical term) · ja 所相 (grammatical term) · ms ragam pasif (grammatical term) · sh трпно стање (grammatical term) · nb passiv (grammatical term) · gd guth fulangach (grammatical term) · sq pësore (grammatical term) · ru страда́тельный зало́г (grammatical term) · it forma passiva (grammatical term) · sv passiv form (grammatical term) · lt pasyvas (grammatical term) · br tu-gouzañv (grammatical term) · hu passzívum (grammatical term) · be пасі́ўны стан (grammatical term) · nrf passif (grammatical term) · eo pasiva voĉo (grammatical term) · da lideform (grammatical term) · de Leidform (grammatical term) · it passivo (grammatical term) · ru пасси́в (grammatical term) · cy stâd oddefol (grammatical term) · la genus passivum (grammatical term) · ka ვნებითი გვარი (grammatical term) · af passief (grammatical term) · mk пасив (grammatical term) · lv pasīvs (grammatical term) · de Passivform (grammatical term) · ml കർമ്മണിപ്രയോഗം (grammatical term) · lv ciešamā kārta (grammatical term) · sv passivum (grammatical term) · sl trpni način (grammatical term) · el παθητική φωνή (grammatical term) · de Leidensform (grammatical term) · ar صِيغَة مَجْهُول (grammatical term) · cmn 被動語態 /被动语态 (grammatical term) · uk паси́в (grammatical term) · la passivum (grammatical term) · uk паси́вний стан (grammatical term) · ar مَبْنِي مَجْهُول (grammatical term) · lt neveikiamoji rūšis (grammatical term) · it diatesi passiva (grammatical term) · mi whakahāngū (grammatical term) · es voz pasiva (grammatical term) · ja 受動態 (grammatical term) · mn үйлдэгдэх хэв (grammatical term) · de Passiv (grammatical term) · ru пасси́вный зало́г (grammatical term) · ga faí chéasta (grammatical term) · hy կրավորական սեռ (grammatical term) · tl tinig-balintiyak (grammatical term) · de Passivum (grammatical term) · bg паси́вен зало́г (grammatical term) · pt voz passiva (grammatical term) · nl lijdende vorm (grammatical term) · de Leideform (grammatical term) · cs pasivum (grammatical term) · pl strona bierna (grammatical term) · cs trpný rod (grammatical term) · et passiiv (grammatical term) · be пасы́ўны стан (grammatical term) · ko 수동태 (grammatical term) · be зале́жны стан (grammatical term) · fr voix passive (grammatical term) · vi dạng bị động (grammatical term) · crh etilgen derece (grammatical term)