active

English Online Dictionary. What means active‎? What does active mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English actyf, from Old French actif, from Latin activus, from agere (“to do, to act”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti.

Morphologically act +‎ -ive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæk.tɪv/
• Rhymes: -æktɪv

Adjective

active (comparative more active, superlative most active)

1. Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives.

   Synonym: acting

   Antonym: passive

2. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble.

   Synonyms: agile, nimble

   Antonyms: passive, indolent, still

3. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force

   Synonyms: in action, working, in force

   Antonyms: quiescent, dormant, extinct

   1. (specifically, of certain geological features, such as volcano, geysers, etc) Emitting hot materials, such as lava, smoke, or steam, or producing tremors.
4. Given to action; constantly engaged in action; energetic; diligent; busy

   Synonyms: busy, deedful, diligent, energetic

   Antonyms: dull, sluggish, indolent, inert

5. Requiring or implying action or exertion

   Synonym: operative

   Antonyms: passive, tranquil, sedentary

6. Given to action rather than contemplation; practical; operative

   Antonyms: theoretical, speculative

7. Brisk; lively.

8. Implying or producing rapid action.

   Antonyms: passive, slow

9. (heading, grammar) About verbs.
   1. Applied to a form of the verb; — opposed to passive. See active voice.
   2. Applied to verbs which assert that the subject acts upon or affects something else; transitive.
   3. Applied to all verbs that express action as distinct from mere existence or state.
10. (computing, of source code) Eligible to be processed by a compiler or interpreter.
11. (electronics) Not passive.
12. (gay sexual slang) (of a homosexual man) enjoying a role in anal sex in which he penetrates, rather than being penetrated by his partner.

    Synonym: top

    Antonyms: passive, bottom

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:active

Derived terms

Related terms

• act

Descendants

• Albanian: aktiv

Translations

See also

• versatile (in relation to sense 10)

Noun

active (plural actives)

1. A person or thing that is acting or capable of acting.
2. (electronics) Any component that is not passive. See Passivity (engineering).

Further reading

• “active”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “active”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Cavite

Asturian

Verb

active

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of activar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of activar

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

active

1. feminine singular of actif

Verb

active

1. inflection of activer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• cavité

Galician

Verb

active

1. inflection of activar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

German

Alternative forms

• aktive

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin āctīvē.

Adverb

active

1. (grammar, obsolete) actively

Etymology 2

Adjective

active

1. inflection of activ:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Interlingua

Adjective

active (not comparable)

1. active

Related terms

• action
• activitate

Latin

Etymology 1

Adverb

āctīvē (comparative āctīvius, superlative āctīvissimē)

1. (grammar) actively

Etymology 2

Adjective

āctīve

1. vocative masculine singular of āctīvus

References

• “active”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• active in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.

Middle English

Adjective

active

1. Alternative form of actyf

Noun

active

1. Alternative form of actyf

Portuguese

Verb

active

1. inflection of activar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [akˈti.ve]

Adjective

active

1. nominative/accusative feminine/neuter plural of activ

Spanish

Verb

active

1. inflection of activar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative