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passive resistance
noun
: resistance especially to a government or an occupying power characterized mainly by noncooperation
Examples of passive resistance in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
So, this openly gay man organized the March on Washington and inspired Dr. King to know about passive resistance and the teachings of Gandhi. ...
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024
Now, the passive resistance of millennials and Gen Z has spread to the annual tradition of celebrating the Lunar New Year with family.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
The group’s fliers, quoting from Goethe, Schiller, Aristotle, Lao Tzu and the Bible, urged passive resistance and sabotage of the Nazi project.
—Alan Cowell, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2023
Some people tend to perceive new technology and changed processes as a threat to their status quo and subsequently push back or engage in passive resistance.
—Peter Bendor-Samuel, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022
This is actually one of the themes of the book – that nonviolent resistance is not passive resistance.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2022
People made a choice between, basically, going into exile or passive resistance on the one hand and going to jail on the other.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2022
Bringing this up elicits a lot of anger or passive resistance.
—Amy Dickinson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'passive resistance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1779, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of passive resistance was
in 1779
Dictionary Entries Near passive resistance
Cite this Entry
“Passive resistance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passive%20resistance. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
passive resistance
noun
: resistance especially to a government or an occupying power characterized mainly by noncooperation
More from Merriam-Webster on passive resistance
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about passive resistance
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