1. Characterized by energetic activity
   "an active man is a man of action"; "an active toddler"; "active as a gazelle"
    
2. Taking part in an activity
   "an active member of the club"; "he was politically active";
   - participating
    
3. Disposed to take action or effectuate change
   "he was active in drawing attention to their grievances"; "a director who takes an active interest in corporate operations"; "an active antagonism"
    
4. Full of activity or engaged in continuous activity
   "an active account"; "an active seaport"; "an active bond market"
    
5. Continuing to exist, function, or operate
   "an active tradition";
   - alive
    
6. Engaged in full-time work
   "active duty"; "though past retirement age he is still active in his profession"
    
7. Exerting influence or producing a change or effect
   "an active ingredient"
    
8. (of e.g. volcanoes) erupting or liable to erupt
   "active volcanoes"
    
9. (of e.g. volcanoes) capable of erupting
   "The island has several active volcanoes"
    
10. (military) engaged in or ready for military or naval operations
    "on active duty";
    - combat-ready, fighting
     
11. (pathology) tending to become more severe or wider in scope
    "active tuberculosis"
     
12. (of the sun) characterized by an increased occurrence of sunspots and flares and radio emissions
    "The sun is entering an active phase of its cycle"
     
13. (grammar) expressing that the subject of the sentence has the semantic function of actor
    "The active voice emphasizes the doer of the action"
     
14. (grammar) expressing action rather than a state of being
    "In 'The cat chased the mouse', 'chased' is an active verb";
    - dynamic

1. A person who is a participating member of an organization
   "the club issues a list of members, both the actives and the retirees"
    
2. Chemical agent capable of activity
   "The active agent in the cleaning solution quickly broke down the stains";
   - active agent
    
3. 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";
   - active voice

Derived forms: actives

See also: about, acrobatic, action, activated, activeness, activist, activistic, activity, agile, alive, astir, athletic, brisk, bustling, busy, counteractive, energetic, eruptive, existent, existing, full of life, going, gymnastic, hands-on, hot [informal], hyper [informal], hyperactive, involved, live, lively, nimble, on the go, operational, overactive, proactive, progressive, quick, sporty, springy, spry, surface-active, vital

Type of: actor, chemical agent, doer, voice, worker

Antonym: dormant, extinct, inactive, passive, quiet, stative

Encyclopedia: Active, Alabama