passivity

noun

pas·​siv·​i·​ty pa-ˈsi-və-tē 

1

: the quality or state of being passive : passiveness

Silence is generally associated with passivity and expression with action, but for me silence requires the greater effort.

—Carina del Valle Schorske

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

… and now she was condemned to years of genteel English poverty by a passivity stubborn as low-grade fever.

—Vivian Gornick

The 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

2

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.

Examples of passivity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adam is smart and kind, but gentle to the point of passivity. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2026

The Lizzie Borden Story lifts Abby out of mythological passivity and puts her at the center of events, perhaps most significantly by having her kill Lizzie’s pet doves. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

Whereas Clara’s journey is one into slumber, inaction, passivity, and perpetuating the system. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026

In that process, key nuances can get lost, turning action into passivity, for instance, or adding a gender to a word where none existed in the original. — Chenier Carpio Opua, The Conversation, 5 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for passivity

• acclivity
• activity
• captivity
• declivity
• festivity
• nativity
• proclivity
• absorptivity
• affectivity
• collectivity
• conductivity
• connectivity

Medical Definition

passivity

noun

pas·​siv·​i·​ty pa-ˈsiv-ət-ē 

plural passivities

: the quality or state of being passive or submissive