passivity
noun
pas·siv·i·ty
pa-ˈsi-və-tē 
1
: the quality or state of being passive : passiveness
The only thing that I find more depressing than this charlatan is the passivity of the museum-goers who pass before his works: they may have an inkling that they are being had, but they are unable to trust the evidence of their eyes.—
Jed Perl
Jed Perl… and now she was condemned to years of genteel English poverty by a passivity stubborn as low-grade fever.—Vivian Gornick
Vivian GornickThe implication—that American policy makers had, out of some combination of timorous passivity and treasonous perfidy, lost China to Communism—set off one of the darkest-ever turns in American civic life.—Daniel Kurtz-Phelan
Daniel Kurtz-Phelan2
chemistry
: a chemically inactive state
—used especially of a metal that has lost its normal chemical activity and is resistant to corrosion
The lower limit of 11% is based on the markedly increased corrosion resistance and spontaneous passivity obtained at this level.—Donald H. DeClerck et al.
Donald H. DeClerck et al.Examples of passivity in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Their passivity before campus activists has stoked an atmosphere that invites mob violence, chaos, and disrespect for our nation’s foundational rights.
—Tyson Langhofer, National Review, 21 Oct. 2024
This practice has led to a passivity among members of Lebanon’s political elite, which has delayed the formation of a new government.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2024
In the original Speak No Evil, the passivity is the point: One of its darkest moments is Bjørn quietly crying in the car en route to the quarry, seemingly resigned to his fate.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
My approach to the situation is certainly not one of contemplative passivity.
—Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
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Tyson Langhofer, National Review, 21 Oct. 2024
This practice has led to a passivity among members of Lebanon’s political elite, which has delayed the formation of a new government.
—Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2024
In the original Speak No Evil, the passivity is the point: One of its darkest moments is Bjørn quietly crying in the car en route to the quarry, seemingly resigned to his fate.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
My approach to the situation is certainly not one of contemplative passivity.
—Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for passivity
Dictionary Entries Near passivity
Cite this Entry
“Passivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passivity. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
passivity
noun
pas·siv·i·ty
pa-ˈsiv-ət-ē
plural passivities
: the quality or state of being passive or submissive
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