Meaning & use
active citizen
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person who takes part in public life and works to improve their community or country.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an active citizen' or 'active citizens'.
Patterns
- an active citizen in something
- become an active citizen
She became an active citizen by joining the neighborhood watch and attending town meetings.
The school encourages students to be active citizens who vote and volunteer.
As an active citizen, he writes to his representative about local issues.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to people who participate in civic life and community affairs.
Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'active citizen program'.
Patterns
- active citizen program
- active citizen initiative
The city launched an active citizen program to get more people involved.
Her active citizen efforts focused on cleaning up the park.
They discussed active citizen participation in the meeting.
Word forms
| plural | active citizens |
|---|
Common combinations
- become an active citizen
- He became an active citizen after retiring.
- active citizen participation
- Active citizen participation is key to a healthy democracy.
- responsible active citizen
- Schools aim to produce responsible active citizens.
- active citizen in the community
- She is an active citizen in the community.
Synonyms and how they differ
- civic-minded person
- Focuses on caring about the community rather than necessarily taking action.
- volunteer
- Someone who gives time freely, often but not always as part of being an active citizen.
- participant
- A general word for someone who takes part; less specific about public life.
Opposites
Word family
- active citizenship noun
- The practice of being an active citizen.
- citizen noun
- A legal member of a country.
- citizenship noun
- The status of being a citizen.
Commonly confused: active citizen or citizen?
active citizen vs citizen
A citizen is simply a legal member of a country; an active citizen actively participates.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'active citizen' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses 'active citizen' as a countable noun with an article. Option 1 is missing a verb or article. Option 2 uses the wrong noun 'citizenships'. Option 3 incorrectly defines it as a government type.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “active citizen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.