active

/ˈæktɪv/ · 2 syllables

Meaning

adjective

tending to become more severe or wider in scope
“active tuberculosis”
engaged in or ready for military or naval operations
“on active duty”
disposed to take action or effectuate change
“a director who takes an active interest in corporate operations”
taking part in an activity
“an active member of the club”
characterized by energetic activity
“an active toddler”
exerting influence or producing a change or effect
“an active ingredient”
full of activity or engaged in continuous activity
“an active seaport”
in operation
“keep hope alive”
(of the sun) characterized by an increased occurrence of sunspots and flares and radio emissions
expressing that the subject of the sentence has the semantic function of actor:
“Hemingway favors active constructions”
(used of verbs (e.g. `to run') and participial adjectives (e.g. `running' in `running water')) expressing action rather than a state of being
(of e.g. volcanos) capable of erupting

noun

chemical agent capable of activity
the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is performing the action or causing the happening denoted by the verb
“`The boy threw the ball' uses the active voice”
a person who is a participating member of an organization
“the club issues a list of members, both the actives and the retirees”

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