as in meekly
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Recent Examples of passively
Cancers don’t just passively exist in the body.
—
Charles J. Dimitroff, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
But trust is not built passively.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Even better, unlike passively watching a show, cooking requires partners to engage with one another and work toward a shared goal.
—Mark Travers, CNBC, 7 June 2026
That’s because many Americans passively invest their 401(k) and other retirement savings through index funds—large stock portfolios tied to indexes such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 designed to broadly track the market’s performance by pooling together the stocks of the biggest public companies.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
Many researchers have theorized that melting Ice Age glaciers likely helped passively shift the Altar Stone closer to southern England’s Salisbury Plain around 2500 BCE, shortening the transport distance for Stonehenge’s creators.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 4 June 2026
Rather than providing medication, these states are more often choosing to monitor the miscarriage passively instead of intervening.
—Claire Zillman, Fortune, 28 May 2026
Essentially, the walls passively control moisture and temperature without relying on air conditioners and other active solutions.
—Stefan Ionescu
may 26, New Atlas, 26 May 2026
However, audiences do not always passively accept gender depiction in texts or visual media products.
—Tham Thi Nguyen, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
Charles J. Dimitroff, The Conversation, 12 June 2026
But trust is not built passively.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Even better, unlike passively watching a show, cooking requires partners to engage with one another and work toward a shared goal.
—Mark Travers, CNBC, 7 June 2026
That’s because many Americans passively invest their 401(k) and other retirement savings through index funds—large stock portfolios tied to indexes such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 designed to broadly track the market’s performance by pooling together the stocks of the biggest public companies.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
Many researchers have theorized that melting Ice Age glaciers likely helped passively shift the Altar Stone closer to southern England’s Salisbury Plain around 2500 BCE, shortening the transport distance for Stonehenge’s creators.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 4 June 2026
Rather than providing medication, these states are more often choosing to monitor the miscarriage passively instead of intervening.
—Claire Zillman, Fortune, 28 May 2026
Essentially, the walls passively control moisture and temperature without relying on air conditioners and other active solutions.
—Stefan Ionescu
may 26, New Atlas, 26 May 2026
However, audiences do not always passively accept gender depiction in texts or visual media products.
—Tham Thi Nguyen, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passively
Adverb
-
Whether a man chose to use that pistol or meekly give up the money to a robber was up to him.—
Richard Selcer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Apr. 2026
-
That was checkmate, as Martinez grounded out meekly to end the season.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Once the players returned to the field, Diaz inexplicably tried a Panenka-style chip and his weak penalty sailed tamely into the arms of Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
18 Jan. 2026
-
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
Adverb
-
Jac Caglianone calmly jogged to first base.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
11 June 2026
-
McCall approached the situation calmly and wasn’t caught up in the moment, really listening to criticism.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
10 June 2026
Adverb
-
Nature is no big deal in Cristian Mungiu‘s superb new drama of systemic order and individual disarray, which takes in the sprawling waters and monochrome mountainscapes of the region with a placidly appreciative eye.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
18 May 2026
-
That sequence also introduces a placidly smiley Kylie Jenner playing herself on seemingly a Valium-Adderall speedball of deluded bounciness.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Hockney, who was born in Bradford, England, in 1937, died peacefully at his home on Thursday, June 11, one month before his 89th birthday, according to the BBC.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
12 June 2026
-
In New York City, a relatively new coalition called Hands Off NYC has, since January, trained more than 7,000 volunteers to peacefully resist ICE.—
M. Gessen,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
Adverb
-
That’s a little challenging right now, to put it mildly.—
Derek Lawrence,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 June 2026
-
That's a little challenging right now, to put it mildly.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
Adverb
-
Unlike the coolly impassive Pop artists, the Who weren’t afraid to get personal, or to let their art echo the anxious, kinky, maladjusted yammering in their own heads.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
The bezel round the screen is extremely narrow too, while the rear panel features a flat back and a side structure that coolly creates the impression of being created from a series of separate layers.—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Adverb
-
After 50 minutes of self-satisfaction, the hero fades serenely into a sunset that Dudamel made miraculously mystical.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
Perhaps, but Alonso’s attentive gaze reworks the meaning of excitement such that a banal exchange with the nearby farmhand, and a drive into the nearby village, provide minor thrills — that is, if you’re properly settled onto Alonso’s serenely sluggish wavelength.—
Beatrice Loayza,
Variety,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passively. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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