Idle vs. Passive — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Idle and Passive
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Compare with Definitions
Idle
Not employed or busy
Idle carpenters.
Passive
Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance
The women were portrayed as passive victims
Idle
Disinclined to work or be active; lazy
“a man who could seem idle, ignorant, even incompetent, yet was able to understand and to express ... the instincts, good and bad, of the American majority” (Godfrey Hodgson).
Passive
Denoting a voice of verbs in which the subject undergoes the action of the verb (e.g. they were killed as opposed to the active form he killed them).
Idle
Not in use or operation
Idle hands.
Idle mills.
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Passive
(of a circuit or device) containing no source of electromotive force
A passive optical network is to be installed in 2000 homes
Idle
(Sports) Not scheduled to play a game
Both teams played today but will be idle tomorrow.
Passive
(of a metal) made unreactive by a thin inert surface layer of oxide.
Idle
Being a period of time in which there is little or no activity
Passed idle hours watching TV.
Passive
A passive form of a verb.
Idle
Lacking substance, value, or basis
Idle speculation.
Idle threats.
Passive
Receiving or subjected to an action without responding or initiating an action in return
The mind viewed as a passive receptacle for sensory experience.
Idle
To pass time without being engaged in purposeful activity
“The girls idled all day long, sending their tinkling laughter flowing up and down the street” (Alai).
Passive
Accepting or submitting without objection or resistance; submissive
A passive acceptance of one's fate.
Idle
To move slowly or without purpose
“I drove past the workshop ... I idled along the driveway past the pole fence ... to Tyhee Road” (Tom Spanbauer).
Passive
Existing, conducted, or experienced without active or concerted effort
“Although tick paralysis is a reportable disease in Washington, surveillance is passive, and only 10 cases were reported during 1987–1995” (US Department of Health and Human Services). “[Many parents believe] that computers are educational and, at the least, less passive than television” (Laurie Hays).
Idle
To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor or motor vehicle.
Passive
Of, relating to, or being certain bonds or shares that do not bear financial interest.
Idle
To pass (time) without doing anything
Idle the afternoon away.
Passive
Of, relating to, or being a solar heating or cooling system that uses no external mechanical power.
Idle
To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive
Layoffs that idled 1,000 factory workers.
A plant that was idled by a strike.
Passive
(Grammar) Of, relating to, or being a verb form or voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject is the object of the action or the effect of the verb. For example, in the sentence They were impressed by his manner, were impressed is in the passive voice.
Idle
To cause (a motor, for example) to idle.
Passive
(Chemistry) Unreactive except under special or extreme conditions; inert.
Idle
A state of idling. Used of a motor vehicle
An engine running quietly at idle.
Passive
(Electronics) Exhibiting no gain or contributing no energy
A passive circuit element.
Idle
A mechanism for regulating the speed at which an engine runs at rest
Set the idle higher to keep the motor from stalling.
Passive
The passive voice.
Idle
(obsolete) Empty, vacant.
Passive
A verb or construction in the passive voice.
Idle
Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity.
Idle hours
My computer hibernates after it has been idle for 30 minutes.
Passive
Being subjected to an action without producing a reaction.
Idle
Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular.
Idle workmen
Passive
Taking no action.
He remained passive during the protest.
Idle
Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
An idle fellow
Passive
(grammar) Being in the passive voice.
Idle
Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
An idle story;
Idle talk;
Idle rumor
Passive
(psychology) Being inactive and submissive in a relationship, especially in a sexual one.
Idle
(obsolete) Light-headed; foolish.
Passive
(finance) Not participating in management.
Idle
(transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
Passive
(aviation) Without motive power.
A passive balloon; a passive aeroplane; passive flight, such as gliding and soaring
Idle
(intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
To idle in an IRC channel
Passive
(electronics) Of a component: that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
Idle
(intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
Passive
Where allowance is made for a possible future event.
Idle
(mechanical engineering) The lowest selectable thrust or power setting of an engine.
Passive
(grammar) The passive voice of verbs.
Idle
(gaming) An idle animation.
Passive
(grammar) A form of a verb that is in the passive voice.
Idle
(gaming) An idle game.
Passive
(marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.
Idle
Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren.
Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Down their idle weapons dropped.
This idle story became important.
Passive
(electronics) Any component that consumes but does not produce energy, or is incapable of power gain.
Idle
Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
The idle spear and shield were high uphing.
Passive
Not active, but acted upon; suffering or receiving impressions or influences; as, they were passive spectators, not actors in the scene.
The passive airUpbore their nimble tread.
The mind is wholly passive in the reception of all its simple ideas.
Idle
Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen.
Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Passive
Receiving or enduring without either active sympathy or active resistance; without emotion or excitement; patient; not opposing; unresisting; as, passive obedience; passive submission.
The best virtue, passive fortitude.
Idle
Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow.
Passive
Inactive; inert; unreactive; not showing strong affinity; as, red phosphorus is comparatively passive.
Idle
Light-headed; foolish.
Passive
Designating certain morbid conditions, as hemorrhage or dropsy, characterized by relaxation of the vessels and tissues, with deficient vitality and lack of reaction in the affected tissues.
Idle
To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.
Passive
The voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verb;
`The ball was thrown by the boy' uses the passive voice
`The ball was thrown' is an abbreviated passive
Idle
To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; - often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day.
Passive
Lacking in energy or will;
Much benevolence of the passive order may be traced to a disinclination to inflict pain upon oneself
Idle
Run disconnected or idle;
The engine is idling
Passive
Peacefully resistant in response to injustice;
Passive resistance
Idle
Be idle; exist in a changeless situation;
The old man sat and stagnated on his porch
He slugged in bed all morning
Passive
Expressing thatthe subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb;
Academics seem to favor passive sentences
Idle
Not in action or at work;
An idle laborer
Idle drifters
The idle rich
An idle mind
Idle
Without a basis in reason or fact;
Baseless gossip
The allegations proved groundless
Idle fears
Unfounded suspicions
Unwarranted jealousy
Idle
Not in active use;
The machinery sat idle during the strike
Idle hands
Idle
Silly or trivial;
Idle pleasure
Light banter
Light idle chatter
Idle
Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility;
Idle talk
A loose tongue
Idle
Not yielding a return;
Dead capital
Idle funds
Idle
Not having a job;
Idle carpenters
Jobless transients
Many people in the area were out of work
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