• IPA: /ˈæk.tɪv/

active

1. Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives.

   certain active principles

   the active powers of the mind

   Synonyms: acting

   Antonyms: passive

2. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble.

   an active child or animal

   Synonyms: agile, nimble

   Antonyms: passive, indolent, still

3. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force

   active laws

   active hostilities

   Synonyms: in action, working, in force

   Antonyms: quiescent, dormant, extinct

   1. (specifically, of certain geological features, such as volcano, geysers, etc) Emitting hot materials, such as lava, smoke, or steam, or producing tremors.
4. Given to action; constantly engaged in action; energetic; diligent; busy

   an active man of business

   active mind

   active zeal

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314 ↗, page 0108 ↗:

     This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. […] He was smooth-faced, and his fresh skin and well-developed figure bespoke the man in good physical condition through active exercise, yet well content with the world's apportionment.

   Synonyms: busy, deedful, diligent, energetic
   Antonyms: dull, sluggish, indolent, inert
5. Requiring or implying action or exertion

   active employment or service

   active scenes

   Synonyms: operative

   Antonyms: passive, tranquil, sedentary

6. Given to action rather than contemplation; practical; operative

   an active rather than a speculative statesman

   Antonyms: theoretical, speculative

7. Brisk; lively.

   an active demand for corn

8. Implying or producing rapid action.

   an active disease

   an active remedy

   Antonyms: passive, slow

9. (heading, grammar) About verbs.
   1. Applied to a form of the verb; — opposed to passive. See active voice.
   2. Applied to verbs which assert that the subject acts upon or affects something else; transitive.
   3. Applied to all verbs that express action as distinct from mere existence or state.
10. (computing, of source code) Eligible to be processed by a compiler or interpreter.
11. (electronics) Not passive.
12. (gay sexual slang) (of a homosexual man) enjoying a role in anal sex in which he penetrates, rather than being penetrated by his partner.

    Synonyms: top

    Antonyms: passive, bottom

• See also Thesaurus:active

• act

• French: actif
• German: aktiv
• Italian: attivo
• Portuguese: ativo
• Russian: акти́вный
• Spanish: activo

• French: actif
• German: gewandt, flink
• Portuguese: ativo
• Russian: акти́вный

• French: actif
• German: aktiv
• Portuguese: ativado
• Russian: действи́тельный

• French: actif
• German: tätig
• Portuguese: ativo
• Russian: акти́вный

• Russian: акти́вный

• German: rührig
• Russian: де́ятельный

• Portuguese: ativo
• Russian: энерги́чный

• French: actif
• German: aktiv
• Portuguese: ativo
• Russian: действи́тельный
• Spanish: activo

active (plural actives)

1. A person or thing that is acting or capable of acting.
2. (electronics) Any component that is not passive. See Passivity (engineering).
   • 2013, David Manners, Hitchhikers' Guide to Electronics in the '90s (page 36)

     Components are split into two broad segments: actives and passives. Active components like the vacuum tube and the transistor contain the power to generate and alter electrical signals.