English Explanatory Dictionary

passive-aggressive

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Showing passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following authoritative instructions in interpersonal or occupational situations.
  2. Showing covert hostility, intending to cause annoyance or to humiliate, while maintaining a transparent (to the recipient) veneer of politeness.

Word forms

passive-aggressive more passive-aggressive most passive-aggressive

Etymology

From 1940s, after passive aggression.

Related words

resistance

Derived words

paggro pass-agg passive-aggression passive-aggressively passive-aggressiveness passive-aggressive personality disorder passive-aggressivist aggressor
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on P Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary