denotes something that communicates action or motion to another; in which acceptation it stands opposed to passive.

in Grammar, is applied to such words as express action; and is therefore opposed to passive. The active performs the action, as the passive receives it. Thus we say, a verb active, a conjugation active, &c. or an active participle.

ACTIVE Verbs, are such as do not only signify doing, or acting, but have also nouns following them, to be the subject of the action or impression; Thus, To love, to teach, are verbs active; because we can say, To love a thing, to teach a man. Neuter verbs also denote an action, but are distinguished from active verbs, in that they cannot have a noun following them: such are, To sleep, to go, &c. Some grammarians, however, make three kinds of active verbs: the transitive, where the action passes into a subject different from the agent; the reflected, where the action returns upon the agent; and the reciprocal, where the action turns mutually upon the two agents who produced it.

ACTIVE Power, in Metaphysics, the power of executing any work or labour; in contradistinction to speculative powers*, or the powers of seeing, hearing, remembering, judging, reasoning, &c.

The exertion of active power we call action; and as every action produces some change, so every change must be caused by some effect, or by the cessation of some exertion of power. That which produces a change by the exertion of its power we call the cause of that change; and the change produced, the effect of that cause. See METAPHYSICS.

ACTIVE Principles, in Chemistry, such as are supposed to act without any assistance from others; as mercury, sulphur, &c.