In the advanced grammar class, the students analyzed several impersonal passives to understand how actions are described without a specific agent.

Her passive-aggressiveness made team meetings tense, because nobody knew whether she agreed or resented the plan.

Her passive-aggressivity made team meetings tense and unproductive.

She smiled passive-aggressively when he announced his promotion, then refused to congratulate him.

In many languages, a short passive is used when the agent is irrelevant.

Linguists debated whether the long passive in that dialect functions differently from a regular passive.

The passive smoker left the café early because the smoke made her eyes water.

The museum installed passive restraints on fragile exhibits to prevent visitors from touching them.

In that memoir, he admitted he had been French passive, an obsolete gay slang adjective indicating he preferred to receive rather than give fellatio.

He identified as Greek passive during his years at university, a label that occasionally sparked uncomfortable conversations.