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ACTIVE
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A person who is a participating member of an organization
Example:
the club issues a list of members, both the actives and the retirees
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("active" is a kind of...):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
Derivation:
active (disposed to take action or effectuate change)
active (taking part in an activity)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is performing the action or causing the happening denoted by the verb
Example:
'The boy threw the ball' uses the active voice
Synonyms:
active; active voice
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Hypernyms ("active" is a kind of...):
voice ((linguistics) the grammatical relation (active or passive) of the grammatical subject of a verb to the action that the verb denotes)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Chemical agent capable of activity
Synonyms:
active; active agent
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("active" is a kind of...):
chemical agent (an agent that produces chemical reactions)
Derivation:
active (exerting influence or producing a change or effect)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Characterized by energetic activity
Example:
an active man is a man of action
Classified under:
Similar:
sporty (appropriate for sport or engagement in a sport)
on the go ((of a person) very busy and active)
hyperactive; overactive (more active than normal)
hot (marked by excited activity)
agile; nimble; quick; spry (moving quickly and lightly)
acrobatic; athletic; gymnastic (vigorously active)
Also:
lively (full of life and energy)
energetic (possessing or exerting or displaying energy)
Attribute:
activeness; activity (the trait of being active; moving or acting rapidly and energetically)
Antonym:
inactive (not active physically or mentally)
Derivation:
activeness; activity (the trait of being active; moving or acting rapidly and energetically)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Engaged in full-time work
Example:
though past retirement age he is still active in his profession
Classified under:
Similar:
activated ((military) set up and placed on active assignment)
Antonym:
inactive (not engaged in full-time work)
Derivation:
activeness; activity (the state of being active)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Full of activity or engaged in continuous activity
Example:
an active account
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
brisk (very active)
bustling (full of energetic and noisy activity)
busy (crowded with or characterized by much activity)
going (in full operation)
open (ready for business)
springy ((of movements) light and confidently active)
Antonym:
inactive (lacking activity; lying idle or unused)
Derivation:
activity; activeness (the trait of being active; moving or acting rapidly and energetically)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Tending to become more severe or wider in scope
Example:
active tuberculosis
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
progressive (advancing in severity)
Domain category:
pathology (the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases)
Antonym:
inactive ((pathology) not progressing or increasing; or progressing slowly)
Derivation:
activeness (the state of being active)
activity (an organic process that takes place in the body)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Disposed to take action or effectuate change
Example:
he was active in drawing attention to their grievances
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
activist; activistic (advocating or engaged in activism)
hands-on (involving active participation)
proactive ((of a policy or person or action) controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than waiting to respond to it after it happens)
Attribute:
activeness; activity (the trait of being active; moving or acting rapidly and energetically)
Antonym:
passive (lacking in energy or will)
Derivation:
active (a person who is a participating member of an organization)
activeness (the state of being active)
activity (the trait of being active; moving or acting rapidly and energetically)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(of e.g. volcanos) erupting or liable to erupt
Example:
active volcanos
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
eruptive (actively spewing out lava)
Attribute:
action; activeness; activity (the state of being active)
Domain category:
vent; volcano (a fissure in the earth's crust (or in the surface of some other planet) through which molten lava and gases erupt)
Antonym:
dormant ((of e.g. volcanos) not erupting and not extinct)
Derivation:
activity (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))
activeness (the state of being active)
Sense 7
Meaning:
(of e.g. volcanos) capable of erupting
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
alive; live (capable of erupting)
Also:
live (exerting force or containing energy)
Antonym:
extinct ((of e.g. volcanos) permanently inactive)
Sense 8
Meaning:
(used of verbs (e.g. 'to run') and participial adjectives (e.g. 'running' in 'running water')) expressing action rather than a state of being
Synonyms:
active; dynamic
Classified under:
Adjectives
Domain category:
grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))
Antonym:
stative ((used of verbs (e.g. 'be' or 'own') and most participial adjectives) expressing existence or a state rather than an action)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Expressing that the subject of the sentence has the semantic function of actor:
Example:
Hemingway favors active constructions
Classified under:
Adjectives
Domain category:
grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))
Antonym:
passive (expressing that the subject of the sentence is the patient of the action denoted by the verb)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Exerting influence or producing a change or effect
Example:
an active ingredient
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
activated (rendered active; e.g. rendered radioactive or luminescent or photosensitive or conductive)
counteractive (opposing or neutralizing or mitigating an effect by contrary action)
surface-active (capable of lowering the surface tension of a liquid; used especially of detergents)
Antonym:
inactive (not exerting influence or change)
Derivation:
active (chemical agent capable of activity)
activeness (the state of being active)
activity ((chemistry) the capacity of a substance to take part in a chemical reaction)
Sense 11
Meaning:
(of the sun) characterized by an increased occurrence of sunspots and flares and radio emissions
Classified under:
Adjectives
Domain category:
astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)
Antonym:
quiet ((of the sun) characterized by a low level of surface phenomena, such as sunspots)
Derivation:
activity (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))
activeness (the state of being active)
Sense 12
Meaning:
In operation
Example:
an active tradition
Synonyms:
active; alive
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
existent; existing (having existence or being or actuality)
Derivation:
activeness (the state of being active)
activity (any specific behavior)
Sense 13
Meaning:
Taking part in an activity
Example:
the participating organizations
Synonyms:
active; participating
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
involved (connected by participation or association or use)
Derivation:
active (a person who is a participating member of an organization)
activeness (the state of being active)
activity (any specific behavior)
Sense 14
Meaning:
Engaged in or ready for military or naval operations
Example:
review the fighting forces
Synonyms:
active; combat-ready; fighting
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
operational ((military) of or intended for or involved in military operations)
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Derivation:
activeness; activity (the state of being active)
Context examples:
The new phases of things leave my mind in a state of wonder which allows no room for active thought.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Administered intratumorally, Ad/PNP expresses the enzyme PNP, which may catalyze systematically administrated fludarabine phosphate prodrug into its active form 2-fluoroadenine (F-Ade).
(Adenovirus-Encoding E.coli PNP, NCI Thesaurus)
Encoded by human APCL Gene, 2303-amino acid 244 kD tumor suppressor APCL Protein is similar to APC and regulates formation of active Beta-Catenin/TCF complexes.
(Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Like Protein, NCI Thesaurus)
Three years had certainly not smoothed the asperities of his temper or his impatience with a less active intelligence than his own.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
An active process; excludes processes and mechanisms which fulfill biological functions.
(Activity, NCI Thesaurus)
After conversion in vivo to the active metabolite acyclovir triphosphate by viral thymidine kinase, acyclovir competitively inhibits viral DNA polymerase by incorporating into the growing viral DNA chain and terminating further polymerization.
(Acyclovir, NCI Thesaurus)
At the end of April, OSIRIS images revealed the comet was active — spewing out enough gas and dust to create an extended coma.
(Rosetta closing in on comet, NASA)
The team targeted eight powerful and distant cosmic "streetlights," called quasars (regions around active black holes that emit enormous amounts of light).
(Cosmic Magnifying Glasses Find Dark Matter in Small Clumps, NASA)
However, among participants who were most active, the lesions weren’t linked to poorer motor skills.
(Physical Activity May Reduce Age-Related Movement Problems, NIH)
Most seamounts were once active volcanoes, and so are usually found near tectonically active plate boundaries, mid-ocean ridges and subducting zones.
(New map uncovers thousands of unseen seamounts on ocean floor, NSF)
