Noun: passive aggression
- Indirect expression of hostility, such as through procrastination, stubbornness, sullenness, or deliberate or repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is (often explicitly) responsible
"His passive aggression manifested in constantly 'forgetting' to do his assigned chores"
Type of: defence [Brit, Cdn], defence mechanism [Brit, Cdn], defence reaction [Brit, Cdn], defense [US], defense mechanism [US], defense reaction [US]
Encyclopedia: Passive aggression