passively

adverb

Definition of passivelynext
as in meekly

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of passively The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act means the court cannot order Meta to request children to submit personal data or be passively tracked online, even for age verification purposes. — ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026 And, of course, all my various resource gathering teams are working passively to give me piles of materials. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026 Altitude control comes from changing overall motor thrust, and its spinning nature makes the drone passively stable. — IEEE Spectrum, 16 July 2026 Wearable solutions are designed to integrate seamlessly into daily life, collecting data passively and allowing it to be shared with clinicians, partners, or support networks when needed. — Matt Emma, USA Today, 14 July 2026 Underwater, the wings passively bend up to 90%, which cuts the load on the motor and shortens the effective sweep of each flap. — New Atlas, 13 July 2026 Traveling such vast distances between our solar system's most remote objects means New Horizons often cruises for months at a time with little to do other than passively collect data. — Brett Tingley, Space.com, 8 July 2026 The people who are going to make a difference are not the ones who seek relaxation and passively use AI to work less. — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026 Antares Nuclear’s Mark-0 employs sodium heat pipes that passively transfer heat away from the reactor core without using power. — Idaho Statesman, 25 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passively
  1. meekly
  2. tamely
  3. calmly
  4. placidly
  5. peacefully
  6. mildly
  7. coolly
  8. serenely
Adverb
  • When Luke tells him, meekly, not to touch Crystal, Max only wants to know who the young man is.
    — JP Mangalindan, Time, 31 July 2026
  • Sincere meekly hands her a flower from his pocket and sits down, appearing penitent.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 29 June 2026
Definition of meekly
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
Definition of tamely
Adverb
  • The goal is to move the surprise out of the checkout line and into a moment where someone can explain it calmly.
    — Elie Y. Katz, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • In other circumstances, the Isak crisis might have been handled more calmly and more adeptly.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of calmly
Adverb
  • The waters of a continent – west from the Rockies and east from the Appalachians – pour into it, sometimes violently, sometimes placidly.
    — Alfredo Sosa, Christian Science Monitor, 24 June 2026
  • 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
Definition of placidly
Adverb
  • On a picture-perfect day on Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay, four small boats rock peacefully next to each other.
    — Louisa Moller, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The actress passed away peacefully on April 15, 2026, in Honolulu, according to an obituary.
    — Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of peacefully
Adverb
  • With hundreds of thousands of women’s fragrances flooding the market (and that’s putting it mildly) finding your signature scent or building out a fragrance wardrobe can quickly lead to sensory overload.
    — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The venom is mildly toxic to mammals such as mice, and it is reported to only cause inflammation and skin discoloration in humans.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of mildly
Adverb
  • After controlling the ball twice with his head, Bouanga sprinted into the box and coolly lifted it over goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland and into the net.
    — Josh Gross, Daily News, 26 July 2026
  • Introspection is hardly foreign to country music, but Langley’s coolly reflective approach stands out in a genre defined by social collisions—by scenes of cowboys and cowgirls settling scores.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026
Definition of coolly
Adverb
  • The cumulative impression of Alice that the book leaves is of someone moving serenely through life, meeting fond blessings and awful curses both with the same calm equanimity.
    — Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The camera then panned to a cool and collected Moore, who could be seen serenely watching the frenzy from a chair in the corner.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 25 July 2026
Definition of serenely

Browse Nearby Words

passive
passively
passiveness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Passively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passively. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All