as in meekly
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Recent Examples of passively
Most recently, in 2023, a group of British researchers found that ticks are passively attracted to furry hosts, whose fluffy coats accumulate electrons.
—
Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025
By inviting children to deliberate, argue, and choose winners, SIFF is essentially teaching media literacy as a creative discipline, cultivating audiences who interpret film critically, not passively.
—Essie Assibu, Variety, 21 Oct. 2025
The system uses spectroscopy to determine how light interacts with your waste, while also passively monitoring its frequency, consistency, and shape, The Verge reports.
—PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
All of it passively consumed, all of it scrolled on by.
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
The researchers did not actively intercept communications but only passively listened to what was being transmitted.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
The first was to use his ball-carrying to advance beyond opponents who pressed passively.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Interestingly, most dogs spent much of their time lying passively, but activity spiked in the first hour of separation.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Students learn to leverage technology for creative problem-solving, not just consume it passively.
—Jaime Catmull, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025
By inviting children to deliberate, argue, and choose winners, SIFF is essentially teaching media literacy as a creative discipline, cultivating audiences who interpret film critically, not passively.
—Essie Assibu, Variety, 21 Oct. 2025
The system uses spectroscopy to determine how light interacts with your waste, while also passively monitoring its frequency, consistency, and shape, The Verge reports.
—PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 2025
All of it passively consumed, all of it scrolled on by.
—Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
The researchers did not actively intercept communications but only passively listened to what was being transmitted.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
The first was to use his ball-carrying to advance beyond opponents who pressed passively.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Interestingly, most dogs spent much of their time lying passively, but activity spiked in the first hour of separation.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Students learn to leverage technology for creative problem-solving, not just consume it passively.
—Jaime Catmull, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passively
Adverb
-
In other words, students prepare for citizenship in a disputatious society by practicing the civic arts—by asserting and advocating for their views—not by meekly absorbing lessons from their instructors.—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
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Well, after years of stuttering, pausing, juddering, waiting for the goalkeeper to dive and then rolling spot kicks meekly into the net, Nick Woltemade may have just reversed the trend.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Dominik Szoboszlai had just squandered a golden chance by firing tamely into the arms of Emiliano Martinez after winning the ball back high up the field when the Kop parked their frustration and vocally declared their unwavering faith in the Dutchman.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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That test soon divides matter, even for a far from sensitive ear, into what reads well & what reads tamely, haltingly, jerkily, lopsidedly, top-heavily, or otherwise badly.—
Ben Yagoda,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Address gossip calmly and factually, not emotionally.—
Johnny C. Taylor Jr,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
-
In a viral TikTok shared by user @rejumadnil, a small dog can be seen calmly lounging on what appears to be an entire couch cushion placed neatly inside its kennel.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
All three kittens were in a cage in the trunk of their minivan, placidly watching us.—
Tao Lin,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
-
One goalkeeper robot stood placidly as its opponent kicked a ball at its legs several times before finally managing to score.—
Yan Zhuang,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Here, thousands of those funnels merge into a single, multilayered structure draped across the cave's walls, where thousands of individuals live peacefully side by side in overlapping webs.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Grim fled the state, setting off a nationwide manhunt that lasted four days and ended peacefully in Oklahoma when alert authorities spotted the killer at a relative's house.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
There’s a mildly interesting thread of casting formerly maligned, misunderstood figures like Elizabeth Berkley and Jessica Simpson as clients, but any cultural commentary is overpowered by just how cruel the show is to their characters.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
4 Nov. 2025
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To say there were plenty of good seats available would be putting it mildly.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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The 2000s Sacramento Kings star guard looks fit enough to curl off a screen and coolly drop in an 18-footer jumper in front of a frenzied home playoff crowd, but Bibby does his basketball work now with a whistle.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
2 Nov. 2025
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Addison Barger had two hits and an RBI for the American League champion Blue Jays, who coolly rebounded from their heartbreaking, late-night defeat in Game 3 with stellar work at the plate and on the mound.—
Staff report,
Oc Register,
29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
And Robbie, so serenely, perfectly beautiful, is playing a character teeming with self-loathing.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Passively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passively. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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