1
as in acquiescence
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2
as in inertia
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of passivity
Sometimes the passivity results in long periods of unemployment or underemployment in which the husband neither looks for work nor does any extra parenting or housework.
—
Oona Metz, Time, 13 Jan. 2026
But restraint does not mean passivity.
—Phil Morris The Minnesota Star Tribune, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2026
Cross and Broderick here offer studies in otiose passivity.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
By changing the dynamic of Grainier and Fu Sheng’s relationship, urging us to care about them both, and dropping Grainier’s malcontent bent, Bentley shifts the focus of the story so that its central themes are now about the corrosive impact of passivity and inertia.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for passivity
Oona Metz, Time, 13 Jan. 2026
But restraint does not mean passivity.
—Phil Morris The Minnesota Star Tribune, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2026
Cross and Broderick here offer studies in otiose passivity.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
By changing the dynamic of Grainier and Fu Sheng’s relationship, urging us to care about them both, and dropping Grainier’s malcontent bent, Bentley shifts the focus of the story so that its central themes are now about the corrosive impact of passivity and inertia.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for passivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passivity
Noun
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And acquiescence can be contagious.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
20 Jan. 2026
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Even if clemency led the White House to dial back the ongoing efforts to punish Colorado, acquiescence today only invites future harassment.—
Max Potter,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Agentic commerce will undermine any model that relies on inertia, human friction, or inconvenience to survive.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
24 Feb. 2026
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Mechanically, the As2 features 12 degrees of freedom driven by low-inertia, high-speed inner rotor PMSM motors.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
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In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The vision, centered on spreading the gospel to others, comes at a moment when church apathy and disaffiliation is on the rise across the nation, Martin said.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Feb. 2026
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By late March, challenging planets could bring on some brief depression or apathy.—
Magi Helena,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As host of the three-day summit, Abiy’s heads of state guests showed deference by making no mention of his increasingly bellicose calls for sea access — and the indirect threat to Eritrea, its neighbor.—
Cameron Hudson,
semafor.com,
25 Feb. 2026
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Trump remains popular among his base and remarkably infallible in the eyes of his loyalist administration and still commands extraordinary deference from many leaders in his party.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Birthday celebrations in subsequent years seem hardly to have been calculated to kindle a sense of humility.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
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Seeing the world through the eyes of the dead takes humility and courage.—
Carol Quillen,
Time,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That’s perfectly satisfying for the lizard brain, but the attentive listener may long for the occasional act two to lift Evaporator out of its honeyed electronic stupor and toss a touch of sand in the gears.—
Ben Cardew,
Pitchfork,
23 Feb. 2026
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Last year, many were convinced American politics would be destabilized by videos manipulated by artificial intelligence, or lulled into a post-truth stupor by AI slop.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Such meekness is understandable from him.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Feb. 2026
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Likewise, meekness once meant not becoming weak, but subjugating power to reason – not letting anger take control.—
Timothy J. Pawl,
The Conversation,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passivity. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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