What does passive-aggressive mean?

Definitions for passive-aggressive
pas·sive-ag·gres·sive

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word passive-aggressive.

Wiktionary

  1. passive-aggressiveadjective

    Showing passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following authoritative instructions in interpersonal or occupational situations.

Wikipedia

  1. passive-aggressive

    Passive-aggressive behavior is characterized by a pattern of passive hostility and an avoidance of direct communication. Inaction where some action is socially customary is a typical passive-aggressive strategy (showing up late for functions, staying silent when a response is expected). Such behavior is sometimes protested by associates, evoking exasperation or confusion. People who are recipients of passive-aggressive behavior may experience anxiety due to the discordance between what they perceive and what the perpetrator is saying.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of passive-aggressive in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of passive-aggressive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of passive-aggressive in a Sentence

  1. Chuck Carlson:

    You've got investors grappling with a new environment of volatility and how to handle that, that means a market like we have now, kind of manic-depressive, passive-aggressive.

  2. Antonio Brown:

    Why every time something happens bad, or how someone reacts, ‘Aw, he’s crazy, there’s something wrong with his mental health,' there’s nothing wrong with my mental health. Someone told me to get the f--- out of here. I’m not passive-aggressive.

  3. Jenny Yip:

    If something doesn’t sit well with you, rather than being passive aggressive about it, acknowledge what is or isn’t working and then have a conversation with whoever is giving you this assignment, defiers usually don’t feel equipped to have these conversations with who they see as authority figures, or they don’t believe that having the conversations would give them any benefit or positive outcome. … That’s not necessarily true.

  4. Olivia Nuzzi:

    New York Magazine’s a return to how I assume things existed in this town, there’s something gross about New York Magazine, though New York Magazine’s a much lower-grade gross than what we were dealing with before … The Biden White House necessitates more operating, The Biden White House requires a phoniness. They’re passive aggressive, whereas the Trump people were aggressive.

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"passive-aggressive." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/passive-aggressive>.

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