In*tran"si*tive (?), a. [L.
intransitivus: cf. F. intransitif. See In- not,
and Transitive.] 1. Not passing farther;
kept; detained. [R.]
And then it is for the image's sake and so far is
intransitive; but whatever is paid more to the image is
transitive and passes further.
Jer. Taylor.
2. (Gram.) Not transitive; not passing
over to an object; expressing an action or state that is limited to
the agent or subject, or, in other words, an action which does not
require an object to complete the sense; as, an intransitive
verb, e. g., the bird flies; the dog
runs.
&fist; Intransitive verbs have no passive form. Some verbs
which appear at first sight to be intransitive are in reality,
or were originally, transitive verbs with a reflexive or other
object omitted; as, he keeps (i. e., himself) aloof
from danger. Intransitive verbs may take a noun of kindred
signification for a cognate object; as, he died the
death of a hero; he dreamed a dream. Some
intransitive verbs, by the addition of a preposition, become
transitive, and so admit of a passive voice; as, the man
laughed at; he was laughed at by the man.
