PASSIVELY Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

passively

adverb

Definition of passively

as in meekly

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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 system works passively, with no pumps, actuators, or other moving parts to maintain. — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026 Upon landing, the craft passively self-rights and transitions its dual wingsails to wind propulsion without active morphing, achieving a high 91 percent effective mass usage across air and water. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026 The film instead passively constructs Tessa’s world as a colorblind one, in which racial difference simply never comes up. — Beandrea July, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026 The answer is to not passively accept what is given but to organize to make our voices heard. — Torie Bosch, STAT, 5 Sep. 2026 Americans could buy a diversified index fund, passively hold it for the long-term and reap the rewards. — Medora Lee, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 Because beamforming reports are broadcast back to the access point in the clear, a Wi-Fi adapter within range can passively record them in monitor mode. — New Atlas, 26 Aug. 2026 Teams that use this scheme typically play more passively up front. — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 The discussion becomes richer because the audience is no longer receiving information passively. — Chiara Alzati, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for passively

Adverb

The journey moves through several rooms jumbling period French architecture, the first meekly lit with artificial moonlight and video monitors that flicker out from cracks in the wall.

— Miles Socha, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
His recollections often take the form of dialogues in which interlocutors meekly acknowledge his overwhelming rhetorical advantage.

— Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 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 rescue's latest update shows just how far the once-elusive mustang has come — with Outlaw calmly wearing a saddle for the first time.

— CBS Baltimore, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
While four Brewers pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the defense made nearly every big play, Milwaukee’s lineup calmly worked counts, pounded 10 hits through the Padres’ defense and manufactured enough runs to head home smiling.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of calmly

Adverb

That’s a pretty evocative setting for a film, with the perpetual drone and roar of fighter jets overhead and an air of constricting menace pervading what should otherwise be placidly idle summer hours.

— Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of placidly

Adverb

Back on property, the outdoor pool sits peacefully at the edge of the vineyard next to two large oaks (one of which has a storybook-like swing hanging from it, which the youngest guests adored).

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026
Tens of thousands marched peacefully through Brussels against rising living costs and government austerity measures, as Belgium struggles to finalize next year’s budget amid mounting public debt.

— Mark Carlson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of peacefully

Adverb

There’s some mildly threatening gunplay from a man at the end of his tether and yet, for me, this particular digression-of-the-week started to lag.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
The trousers were coordinated with a bolero-style jacket, with long-sleeves and a mildly oversize fit and sharp angular lapels.

— Julia Teti, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of mildly

Adverb

Machado nearly tied Game 4 with a 406-foot drive off reliever Abner Uribe, but Mitchell coolly tracked it down and reached just above the short wall in right-center to keep it in the yard.

— Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
To do the job, Lowen must temporarily move into the author’s home, a coolly lavish modern house in rural Vermont, where Verity’s many boxes of files are stored—and where, of course, Jeremy also lives.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of coolly

Adverb

Smiling serenely, the author looks immaculately put-together, including her matte red lips, which are even more striking contrasted against her pristine white suit.

— Fawnia Soo Hoo, Allure, 5 Oct. 2026
Our low, bargelike vessel drifts serenely, unhurriedly along the brown river.

— Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of serenely

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“Passively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passively. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of passively

adverb

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