passive resistance
noun
opposition to a government or to specific governmental laws by the use of noncooperation and other nonviolent methods, as economic boycotts and protest marches.
Compare
civil disobedience,
noncooperation(def 2).
Origin of passive resistance
First recorded in 1880–85
OTHER WORDS FROM passive resistance
pas·sive re·sist·er, nounWords nearby passive resistance
passive margin,
passive movement,
passive noun,
passive obedience,
passive reason,
passive resistance,
passive restraint,
passive safety,
passive smoking,
passive transfer,
passive tremor
British Dictionary definitions for passive resistance
passive resistance
noun
resistance to a government, law, etc, made without violence, as by fasting, demonstrating peacefully, or refusing to cooperate
Cultural definitions for passive resistance
passive resistance
A technique of demonstrating opposition to a government's activities simply by not cooperating with them. It is particularly associated with Mahatma Gandhi, who opposed violent revolution in his own country's fight for independence. (Compare civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance.)