Active \Ac"tive\, a. [F. actif, L. activus, fr. agere to act.]
1. Having the power or quality of acting; causing change;
communicating action or motion; acting; -- opposed to
passive, that receives; as, certain active principles;
the powers of the mind.
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2. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body;
nimble; as, an active child or animal.
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Active and nervous was his gait. --Wordsworth.
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3. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force; --
opposed to quiescent, dormant, or extinct; as,
active laws; active hostilities; an active volcano.
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4. Given to action; constantly engaged in action; energetic;
diligent; busy; -- opposed to dull, sluggish,
indolent, or inert; as, an active man of business;
active mind; active zeal.
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5. Requiring or implying action or exertion; -- opposed to
sedentary or to tranquil; as, active employment or
service; active scenes.
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6. Given to action rather than contemplation; practical;
operative; -- opposed to speculative or theoretical;
as, an active rather than a speculative statesman.
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7. Brisk; lively; as, an active demand for corn.
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8. Implying or producing rapid action; as, an active disease;
an active remedy.
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9. (Gram.)
(a) Applied to a form of the verb; -- opposed to
passive. See Active voice, under Voice.
(b) Applied to verbs which assert that the subject acts
upon or affects something else; transitive.
(c) Applied to all verbs that express action as distinct
from mere existence or state.
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Active capital, Active wealth, money, or property that
may readily be converted into money.
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Syn: Agile; alert; brisk; vigorous; nimble; lively; quick;
sprightly; prompt; energetic.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
active
adj 1: tending to become more severe or wider in scope; "active
tuberculosis" [ant: inactive]
2: engaged in or ready for military or naval operations; "on
active duty"; "the platoon is combat-ready"; "review the
fighting forces" [syn: combat-ready, fighting(a)]
3: disposed to take action or effectuate change; "a director
who takes an active interest in corporate operations"; "an
active antagonism"; "he was active in drawing attention to
their grievances" [ant: passive]
4: taking part in an activity; "an active member of the club";
"he was politically active"; "the participating
organizations" [syn: participating]
5: characterized by energetic activity; "an active toddler";
"active as a gazelle"; "an active man is a man of action"
[ant: inactive]
6: exerting influence or producing an effect; "an active
ingredient" [ant: inactive]
7: full of activity or engaged in continuous activity; "an
active seaport"; "an active bond market"; "an active
account" [ant: inactive]
8: in operation; "keep hope alive"; "the tradition was still
alive"; "an active tradition" [syn: alive(p)]
9: of the sun; characterized by a high level activity in
sunspots and flares and radio emissions [ant: quiet]
10: expressing that the subject of the sentence has the semantic
function of actor: "Hemingway favors active
constructions" [ant: passive]
11: expressing action rather than a state of being; used of
verbs (e.g. `to run') and participial adjectives (e.g.
`running' in `running water') [syn: dynamic] [ant: stative]
12: (of e.g. volcanos) erupting or liable to erupt; "active
volcanos" [ant: dormant, extinct]
13: producing activity or change [ant: counteractive]
14: engaged in full-time work; "active duty"; "though past
retirement age he is still active in his profession"
[ant: inactive]
15: being in physical motion; "active fish in the aquarium"
16: characterized by energetic bodily activity; "tennis is an
active sport"; "a very physical dance performance" [syn:
physical]
n 1: chemical agent capable of activity [syn: active agent]
2: the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of
the verb is performing the action or causing the happening
denoted by the verb; "`The boy threw the ball' uses the
active voice" [syn: active voice] [ant: passive voice]
3: a person devoted to the active life [ant: contemplative]
WordNet (r) 2.0
157 Moby Thesaurus words for "active":
acting, active voice, activist, activistic, acute, aggressive,
agile, alert, alive, animated, assiduous, at work, bouncing,
bouncy, breezy, brisk, bubbly, bustling, busy, catty, chipper,
compliant, conforming, conscientious, constant, devoted, devout,
diligent, driving, duteous, dutiful, dynamic, ebullient, effective,
effectual, effervescent, efficacious, efficient, energetic,
enterprising, enthusiastic, expeditious, faithful, flexible,
forceful, forcible, frisky, full, full of go, full of life,
full of pep, functional, functioning, go-go, going, going on,
graceful, hearty, hyperactive, impelling, impetuous, in exercise,
in force, in hand, in motion, in operation, in play, in practice,
in process, in the works, inaction, incisive, industrious,
influential, intense, keen, kinetic, live, lively, living, loyal,
lusty, medio-passive, mercurial, meticulous, mettlesome, middle,
middle voice, militant, mindful, mobile, motile, motivational,
motive, motor, moving, nimble, observant, occupied, on foot,
on the fire, on the go, on the move, ongoing, operating,
operational, operative, passive, passive voice, peppy, perky, pert,
physical, potent, powerful, practicing, prompt, propellant,
propelling, punctilious, punctual, quick, quicksilver, ready,
reflexive, regardful, robust, running, rushing, scrupulous,
smacking, snappy, spanking, spirited, sprightly, spry, stirring,
strenuous, strong, supple, take-charge, take-over, transitional,
traveling, trenchant, true, vibrant, vigorous, vivacious, vivid,
voice, wide-awake, working, zestful, zesty, zingy, zippy
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
ACTIVE. The opposite, of passive. We say active debts, or debts due to us;
passive debts are those we owe.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
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