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
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
Society has conditioned us to imagine active resistance is the most common response to terror but my book focuses on freezing and passivity as an underappreciated creative survival strategy.
—Literary Hub, 14 Nov. 2025
Think movement rather than stagnation, discussion rather than passivity.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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
Society has conditioned us to imagine active resistance is the most common response to terror but my book focuses on freezing and passivity as an underappreciated creative survival strategy.
—Literary Hub, 14 Nov. 2025
Think movement rather than stagnation, discussion rather than passivity.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Oct. 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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The city’s unique pace of regulation, agile visa regimes, and deep integration across sectors from education to manufacturing provide a seamless environment for businesses to pilot, scale, and diversify quickly, often cutting through the bureaucratic inertia found elsewhere.—
Abdulla Belhoul,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026
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Ships have real inertia and Newtonian physics, and pilots can choose to toggle flight assistance on to help stabilize their often unpredictable craft, or off to perform mind-bending maneuvers that can be the edge between life and death in high-skill player versus player shootouts.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
31 Jan. 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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And a habit of dismissing frustration as apathy rather than recognizing it as exhaustion.—
Christopher Bellingham,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 Feb. 2026
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There was next to no football booster funding for NIL, and apathy among fans and low ticket sales haven’t helped.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Inflation is not the only peril such deference would invite, or even the worst.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
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Courts continue to adjudicate but with growing deference on matters touching the regime’s ideological core.—
Alejandro Reyes,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Those closest to him will remember not only his talent, but his warmth, humility, faith, and deep love for his family and friends.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
7 Feb. 2026
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Embarrassment could have been a factor in the rash decision, but Trump is not a man who appears to be afflicted by that particular emotion, which takes its cue from a certain amount of self-awareness and humility.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Spotlight The Welcome Demise of Climate Change Catastrophism Is the American Left finally waking up from its decades-long climate catastrophism stupor?—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
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Binging the best Thanksgiving episodes in a post-meal stupor is one way to cope with a less-than-lovely holiday.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Nov. 2025
Noun
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May the Spirit of God, who is truth and strength, and instils meekness and courage, sustain you.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
9 Oct. 2025
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Most Canadians want uncomplicated lives, a desire for calm that can be misinterpreted by louder people as meekness.—
Chris Jones,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Passivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passivity. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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