Word family noun act action ≠ inaction activity ≠ inactivity reaction interaction overacting adjective acting active ≠ inactive verb act ≠ overact adverb actively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishactiveac‧tive1 /ˈæktɪv/ ●●● S2 W2 adjective 1 DSbusyHEALTHY always busy doing things, especially physical or mental activities OPP inactive games for active youngsters She’s over 80, but is still very active.active life/lifestyle My father always led a very active life.active mind/imagination a child with a very active imagination2 involvedTAKE PART/BE INVOLVED involved in an organization or activity and doing lots of practical things to achieve your aims He became politically active at college.be active in (doing) something The Bureau is active in promoting overseas investment.take/play an active part/role in something Encourage students to take an active part in discussions. She took an active interest in local charities.active participation/involvement the importance of active participation by elderly people in the life of the community We’re taking active steps (=doing practical things) to deal with the problem. We maintain active links with other European universities.active member/supporter He is an active member of the Labour Party.3 functioning operating in a way that is normal or expected OPP inactive The virus is active even at low temperatures.4 doing something doing something regularly sexually active teenagers5 volcano an active volcano is likely to erupt (=explode) at any time The volcano became active last year with a series of eruptions. 6 grammarSLG an active verb or sentence has the person or thing doing the action as its subject. In ‘The boy kicked the ball’, the verb ‘kick’ is active → passive1(2)7 HCchemical producing a chemical reaction nicotine, the active ingredient in tobaccoCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: always busy doing things, especially physical or mental activitiesnounsan active lifeHe lived a full and active life.an active lifestyleStudies show that an active lifestyle can reduce your chance of developing heart disease. an active mind (=when someone is able to think quickly and clearly)A fit body is crucial if you want an active mind.an active imagination (=when someone is able to form pictures or ideas easily)Some of the children have an overactive imagination.verbskeep/remain activeWe try to keep the patients active by taking them for a daily walk.adverbsphysically activeYou need to become more physically active and eat less.highly/intensely activean intensely active child COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: involved in an organization or activity and doing lots of practical things to achieve your aimsnounsan active roleMost men play a less active role in family life than women.an active partOur members take an active part in fund-raising.an active memberShe became an active member of the Geological Society.an active interestAs a teenager he began to take an active interest in politics.active participation/involvement (=in an activity or event)Active participation in community life is important in small towns and villages.The school encourages the active involvement of parents.an active participantThe student must be an active participant in the learning process.active support (=encouragement or help)He wrote the book with the active support of his wife, Pam.an active supporterThe company is an active supporter of animal rights groups.phrasesplay an active role in somethingDo you play an active role in your community?take an active part in somethingMost of the students take an active part in sports.take active steps to do somethingYou should take active steps towards reducing stress.take an active interest in somethingNot many young people take an active interest in gardening.adverbspolitically activeAs a student, he was politically active.economically activeThe proportion of men aged 65–69 who are economically active has decreased. Examples from the Corpus
active• She should begin having Pap smears as soon as she is sexually active.• We want to keep her busy and active.• She may be over 80, but she's still very active!• They're both in their seventies, but they're still very active.• It is no coincidence that in the current recession, the big boys have been active again, though with mixed success.• I'd been active all my life, and suddenly I had nothing to do.• In this way the apparently active and positive concept of consent is diluted to the point of near vacuity.• Keep your pride and remember you're not helpless just because you're not active any more.• Aaron seemed like a normal active baby until he was about ten months old.• In Washington Harriman quickly became active in Democratic Party affairs.• Bedwas and District Conservation Society in Gwent have been active in improving open spaces around their town.• They are not semi active just because they exist in you in your background knowledge.• Jamie's a very active little kid!• Today there are over 5,000 active members in the Accra church.• But a lot of people are active onshore and want to be active aboard ship.• active trading on the stock market• The alarm becomes active when the switch is turned on.active life/lifestyle• Her body accepted the organ with hardly a problem and she resumed her active life.• In all ages prior to our modern scientific age, people had a more physical and active lifestyle.• Most residents of homes for the elderly are in their eighties and have come there towards the end of an active life.• Sovereigns are born for an active life, and not for an idle or contemplative existence.• He withdrew from active life and retired to Kenilworth where on the 4 January 1927 he died at the age of seventy-seven.• To many of them the active life seems more deserving because of the amount of good works and preaching it performs.• Cyril's secret for a long and active life - treat yourself.• Go to bed wishing I could have bestowed an extra twenty years' active life upon Bunuel and Jane Austen.politically active• Are older students more politically active?• How might you assess whether most college students are politically active?• She calls on women to become politically active and not just accept their identities.• Okay, so I was looking for a politically active, fat, drunk kleptomaniac.• Mansur Rajih had been politically active for most of his adult life.• My connection to a politically active national organization had strengthened my hand immeasurably.• Significantly, this elder bloc was far more politically active than any other age group.• A growing proportion of politically active workers were no longer without a country, as the Communist Manifesto had proclaimed.sexually active• It is a clear admission that you are sexually active, and parents may find this hard to deal with.• With many sexually active before their sixteenth birthday and with drug taking on the increase, education needs to start young.• Not surprisingly, these men are well represented in the most sexually active groups.• More than 10% of those who are currently sexually active have had a vasectomy.• On the other hand, he wanted to know what it was like to live as a sexually active human being.• Of sexually active teenagers, most are married.• For teenagers who are unmarried and sexually active, there are other complications.• A woman should begin having Pap smears as soon as she is sexually active, Thompson said.volcano ... active• The volcano became active on 28 March last year with a series of eruptions building up to the major explosion on 4 April.active ingredient• If they can t tell us that, we need at least to know the active ingredients.• Licorice Phytosome enhances better absorption of the active ingredients and increases their effectiveness for a prolonged period of time.• The active ingredient checks the growth of bacteria and so helps natural healing.• By using bromocriptine, the company did not have to develop its own similar active ingredient for Ergoset.• Since 1986,700 pesticides have been reviewed from which 350 active ingredients have been banned.• This is why caffeine is the active ingredient in many prescription and nonprescription migraine treatments.• The industry surveys are based on the amounts of active ingredients made for animals by the institute's member companies.• Orthokeraten, the active ingredient of Icône, works to boost the process by which the epidermis renews itself every 28 days.activeactive2 noun → the active → passive2From Longman Business Dictionaryactiveac‧tive /ˈæktɪv/ adjective1FINANCE if trading or a market is active, there is a lot of buying and sellingHong Kong shares advanced in active trading.These markets are among the most active and volatile in the world.Gold was active again today, with nearly 70,000 contracts changing hands.2[not before a noun]COMMERCE a company that is active is selling products or servicesThe company has been active in Italy for more than 25 years.3if someone is active in doing something, they do itForeign companies have been active in making friendly acquisitions.4taking definite action rather than just giving advice or waiting to see what will happenThey are calling for active government intervention.The company will begin an active asset sale program.She wanted to take a more active role in the running of the company.5actually employed in doing a jobThey have looked at data on their active and retired employees’ medical records.6BANKING an active bank account is being usedOrigin active1 (1300-1400) Latin activus, from agere; → ACT1 