Adjacent Words

Active definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ACT'IVE, a. [L. activus.]
1. That has the power or quality of acting; that contains the principle of action, independent of any visible external force; as, attraction is an active power: or it may be defined, that communicates action or motion, opposed to passive, that receives action; as, the active powers of the mind.
2. Having the power of quick motion, or disposition to move with speed; nimble; lively; brisk; agile; as an active animal.
Hence,
3. Busy; constantly engaged in action; pursuing business with vigor and assiduity; opposed to dull, slow, or indolent; as an active officer. It is also opposed to sedentary, as an active life.
4. Requiring action or exertion; practical; operative; producing real effects; opposed to speculative; as, the active duties of life.
5. In grammar, active verbs are those which not only signify action, but have a noun or name following them, denoting the object of the action or impression; called also transitive, as they imply the passing of the action expressed by the verb to the object; as a professor instructs his pupils.
6. Active capital, or wealth, is money, or property that may readily be converted into money, and used in commerce or other employment for profit.
7. Active commerce, the commerce in which a nation carries its own productions and foreign commodities in its own ships, or which is prosecuted by its own citizens; as contradistinguished from passive commerce, in which the productions of one country are transported by the people of another country.
The commerce of Great Britain and of the United States is active; that of China is passive.
It may be the interest of foreign nations to deprive us, as far as possible, of an active commerce in our own bottoms.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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: active, combat-ready, fighting]
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: inactive, passive]
4: taking part in an activity; "an active member of the club"; "he was politically active"; "the participating organizations" [syn: active, 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 a change or 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: active, alive]
9: (of the sun) characterized by an increased occurrence of 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: (used of verbs (e.g. `to run') and participial adjectives (e.g. `running' in `running water')) expressing action rather than a state of being [syn: active, dynamic] [ant: stative]
12: (of e.g. volcanos) capable of erupting [ant: extinct]
13: (of e.g. volcanos) erupting or liable to erupt; "active volcanos" [ant: dormant, inactive]
14: engaged in full-time work; "active duty"; "though past retirement age he is still active in his profession" [ant: inactive] n
1: chemical agent capable of activity [syn: active agent, active]
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, active] [ant: passive, passive voice]
3: a person who is a participating member of an organization; "the club issues a list of members, both the actives and the retirees"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French actif, from Latin activus, from actus, past participle of agere to drive, do — more at agent Date: 14th century 1. characterized by action rather than by contemplation or speculation <an active life> 2. producing or involving action or movement 3. a. of a verb form or voice asserting that the person or thing represented by the grammatical subject performs the action represented by the verb <hits in “he hits the ball” is active> b. expressing action as distinct from mere existence or state 4. quick in physical movement ; lively 5. marked by vigorous activity ; busy <the stock market was active> 6. requiring vigorous action or exertion <active sports> 7. having practical operation or results ; effective <an active law> 8. a. disposed to action ; energetic <took an active interest> b. engaged in an action or activity <an active club member> c. of a volcano currently erupting or likely to erupt — compare dormant 2a, extinct 1b d. characterized by emission of large amounts of electromagnetic energy <an active galactic nucleus> 9. engaged in full-time service especially in the armed forces <active duty> 10. marked by present operation, transaction, movement, or use <an active account> 11. a. capable of acting or reacting ; reacting readily <active nitrogen> <active ingredients> b. tending to progress or to cause degeneration <active tuberculosis> c. of an electronic circuit element capable of controlling voltages or currents d. (1) requiring the expenditure of energy <active calcium ion uptake> (2) functioning by the emission of radiant energy or sound <radar is an active sensor> 12. still eligible to win the pot in poker 13. moving down the line ; visiting in the set — used of couples in contredanses or square dances • active noun • actively adverb • activeness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 a consisting in or marked by action; energetic; diligent (leads an active life; an active helper). b able to move about or accomplish practical tasks (infirmity made him less active). 2 working, operative (an active volcano). 3 originating action; not merely passive or inert (active support; active ingredients). 4 radioactive. 5 Gram. designating the voice that attributes the action of a verb to the person or thing from which it logically proceeds (e.g. of the verbs in guns kill; we saw him). --n. Gram. the active form or voice of a verb. Phrases and idioms: active carbon = activated carbon (see ACTIVATE). active list Mil. a list of officers available for service. active service full-time service in the armed forces. Derivatives: actively adv. activeness n. Etymology: ME f. OF actif -ive or L activus (as ACT v.)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. 2. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble; as, an active child or animal. Active and nervous was his gait. --Wordsworth. 3. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force; -- opposed to quiescent, dormant, or extinct; as, active laws; active hostilities; an active volcano. 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. 5. Requiring or implying action or exertion; -- opposed to sedentary or to tranquil; as, active employment or service; active scenes. 6. Given to action rather than contemplation; practical; operative; -- opposed to speculative or theoretical; as, an active rather than a speculative statesman. 7. Brisk; lively; as, an active demand for corn. 8. Implying or producing rapid action; as, an active disease; an active remedy. 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. Active capital, Active wealth, money, or property that may readily be converted into money. Syn: Agile; alert; brisk; vigorous; nimble; lively; quick; sprightly; prompt; energetic.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Someone who is active moves around a lot or does a lot of things. Having an active youngster about the house can be quite wearing. ...a long and active life. ADJ 2. If you have an active mind or imagination, you are always thinking of new things. ...the tragedy of an active mind trapped by failing physical health. = lively ADJ 3. If someone is active in an organization, cause, or campaign, they do things for it rather than just giving it their support. ...a chance for fathers to play a more active role in childcare... ? passive ADJ: oft ADJ prep • actively They actively campaigned for the vote. ADV 4. Active is used to emphasize that someone is taking action in order to achieve something, rather than just hoping for it or achieving it in an indirect way. Companies need to take active steps to increase exports. ...active discouragement from teachers. = positive ADJ: ADJ n [emphasis] • actively They have never been actively encouraged to take such risks. ADV: usu ADV with v 5. If you say that a person or animal is active in a particular place or at a particular time, you mean that they are performing their usual activities or performing a particular activity. Guerrilla groups are active in the province. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ prep 6. An active volcano has erupted recently or is expected to erupt quite soon. ...molten lava from an active volcano. ? extinct ADJ: usu ADJ n 7. An active substance has a chemical or biological effect on things. The active ingredient in some of the mouthwashes was simply detergent. ADJ: usu ADJ n 8. In grammar, the active or the active voice means the forms of a verb which are used when the subject refers to a person or thing that does something. For example, in 'I saw her yesterday', the verb is in the active. Compare passive. N-SING: the N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Operative, operant, influential, efficient, effective, effectual, efficacious, living, vigorous, in action, in operation, in actual process, in force, in vitality, valid. 2. Busy, diligent, assiduous, industrious, indefatigable, unremitting, laborious, sedulous, notable, at work, hard at work, diligently employed, busily engaged. 3. Alert, nimble, agile, supple, brisk, dapper, stirring, smart, quick, prompt, ready, lively, sprightly, spirited. See spry. 4. Enterprising, energetic, strong, efficient, in earnest, vigorous, full of life, animated, ebullient, fervent. 5. Drastic (as medicine), powerful, potent, effective, efficacious. 6. (Gram.) Transitive.

Moby Thesaurus

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