Definition of "active" []

• Being in physical motion: active fish in the aquarium. (adjective)
• Functioning or capable of functioning. (adjective)
• Marked by energetic activity; busy: active stock and bond markets; spent an active day sightseeing. (adjective)
• Involving or requiring physical exertion and energy: an active workout at the gym. (adjective)
• Being in a state of action; not quiescent: active hostilities along the border. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The Conjugation of an active verb, is styled the _active voice_; and that of a passive verb, the _passive voice_."
• "If, however, the disadvantages of lingering under a broken constitution, and of being able to devote to this subject only a small portion of his time, snatched from the active pursuits of a business life, (_active_ as far as his imperfect health permits him to be,) are any apology for its defects, he hopes that the candid will set down the apology to his credit."
• "_What practical difference ought it to make if_, instead of saying naively that 'I' am active now in delivering this address, I say that _a wider thinker is active_, or that _certain ideas are active_, or that _certain nerve-cells are active_, in producing the result?"