Passive-Aggressive behaviour is a hidden, manipulative form of anger, generally used to avoid direct communication. The passive-aggressive person tries to leverage their behaviour using tactics like inaction, avoidance, withdrawal, or silence, to manipulate the other person.

This behaviour arises mostly due to the way an individual has been brought up. Many families do not have core values and discourage emotional expression or communication.

1. Sarcasm: When instead of directly talking about the problem, the person comments sarcastically.
2. Backhanded Compliment: A subtle form of passive-aggressive behaviour, where the individual gives a backhanded compliment, which is an insult in disguise.
3. Avoidance: When the child or spouse is refusing to speak for a long time.
4. Inaction: When the task or appointment is purposely missed, and no intimation is provided, with the clear intention to hurt the other person.
5. Withdrawal and Sulking: When there is no real, sincere communication but the person acts as if everything is fine. It is a more lethal form of silence.