passive resister
1
7.2
- noun
- /ˈpæsɪv rɪˈzɪstər/
- Indeed, it was not only as the writer of Walden that Thoreau was catching readers' attention, but also his experience as a passive resister.
Examples
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Martin Luther King Jr. is often remembered as a famous passive resister who used nonviolent protests to fight for civil rights.
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The group of students chose to be passive resisters during the protest, sitting peacefully in front of the school to express their discontent.
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As a passive resister, she refused to comply with unjust laws, believing that peaceful disobedience could lead to social change.
Synonyms
1
8.6
A person who refuses to use force even to defend themselves for moral or religious reasons
How Active
Surface Forms
Morphology
passive + resister
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'passive' (not active; non‑violent/inactive) plus 'resister' (one who resists). Even if 'resister' is not listed, its formation from the verb 'resist' plus the agentive '-er' is regular, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would understand it as someone who practices passive resistance.
Etymology
Passive resister comes from the image of someone who refuses to obey without fighting: passive means not using violence and a resister is someone who says 'no'. Imagine a person standing calmly in front of a gate and refusing to move; that's why the phrase means 'a person who uses calm, non-violent protest to try to bring change'.