Showing covert hostility, intending to cause annoyance or to humiliate, while maintaining a transparent (to the recipient) veneer of politeness.
Used in a Sentence
passive-aggressive
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for passive-aggressive.
Editorial note
But every day, it seems more and more like a passive-aggressive means of control.
Examples13
Definitions2
Parts of speech1
Quick take
Showing covert hostility, intending to cause annoyance or to humiliate, while maintaining a transparent (to the recipient) veneer of politeness.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of passive-aggressive gathered in one view.
(psychology) Showing passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following authoritative instructions in interpersonal or occupational situations.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for passive-aggressive.
adjective
Showing covert hostility, intending to cause annoyance or to humiliate, while maintaining a transparent (to the recipient) veneer of politeness.
adjective
(psychology) Showing passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following authoritative instructions in interpersonal or occupational situations.
Example sentences
But every day, it seems more and more like a passive-aggressive means of control.
The GPL school is definitely in the passive-aggressive means of control camp.
The more passive-aggressive China is the more likely it's that Korea and Japan will do something about it.
Sorry for the tangent, but posting to HN seems a rather passive-aggressive way to show someone something.
And if this is your way of telling him, isn't it a little passive-aggressive to do it in a blog post?
Starbucks is immensely profitable and doesn't have to resort to passive-aggressive hate and discrimination games.
But you're doing so under a passive-aggressive cover, as us tech workers often do.
RE: car parking story, I see you have not been to Sweden before, we have mastered the art of passive-aggressive notes here.
> I'm assuming good faith and going to approach this as I would a fellow colleague:) Wow, this is the most passive-aggressive display of good faith I've seen so far.
Quote examples
How the heck is it "passive-aggressive"?
Your "passive-aggressive" and "desperate for attention" comments are out of line.
> "Why so passive-aggressive?" I consider "people are doing things I don't approve of.
I hate being passive-aggressive so I'll be directly aggresive here: this mentality is a way to say, "I don't want to revisit the operational aspects of my system because I don't like to do that work.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use passive-aggressive in a sentence?
But every day, it seems more and more like a passive-aggressive means of control.
What does passive-aggressive mean?
Showing covert hostility, intending to cause annoyance or to humiliate, while maintaining a transparent (to the recipient) veneer of politeness.
What part of speech is passive-aggressive?
passive-aggressive is commonly used as adjective.