dormant

[ dawr-muhnt ]

adjective

1. lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive, as in sleep; torpid:

   The lecturer's sudden shout woke the dormant audience.

   Synonyms: quiescent

   Antonyms: active, awake

2. in a state of rest or inactivity; inoperative; in abeyance:

   The project is dormant for the time being.

   Synonyms: quiescent

3. Biology. in a state of minimal metabolic activity with cessation of growth, either as a reaction to adverse conditions or as part of an organism's normal annual rhythm.
4. Pathology. (of a disease) in an inactive phase but not cured; no longer exhibiting symptoms but perhaps only temporarily. Compare latent ( def 2 ).
5. undisclosed; unasserted:

   dormant musical talent.

   Synonyms: latent

6. Geology. (of a volcano) not having erupted within the last 10,000 years, but having the probability of erupting again. Compare active ( def 10 ), extinct ( def 5 ).
7. Botany. temporarily inactive:

   dormant buds; dormant seeds.

8. (of a pesticide) applied to a plant during a period of dormancy:

   a dormant spray.

9. Heraldry. (of an animal) represented as lying with its head on its forepaws, as if asleep.

dormant

/ ˈdɔːmənt /

adjective

1. quiet and inactive, as during sleep
2. latent or inoperative
3. (of a volcano) neither extinct nor erupting
4. biology alive but in a resting torpid condition with suspended growth and reduced metabolism
5. usually postpositive heraldry (of a beast) in a sleeping position

dormant

/ dôr′mənt /

1. Being in an inactive state during which growth and development cease and metabolism is slowed, usually in response to an adverse environment. In winter, some plants survive as dormant seeds or bulbs, and some animals enter the dormant state of hibernation.
2. Not active but capable of renewed activity. Volcanoes that have erupted within historical times and are expected to erupt again are dormant.

Derived Forms

• ˈdormancy, noun

Other Words From

• non·dor·mant adjective
• sem·i·dor·mant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dormant¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dorma(u)nt, from Anglo-French, present participle of dormir, from Latin dormīre “to sleep”; -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of dormant¹

C14: from Old French dormant, from dormir to sleep, from Latin dormīre

Synonym Study

See inactive.

Example Sentences

Hike the trail along the southwest rim of a dormant volcano at Death Valley’s Ubehebe Crater, and meander along Artist’s Drive, a nine-mile road that passes through hillsides colorfully tinted with volcanic sediment.

From Outside Online

Demo stations for “Death Stranding” and “Super Mario Maker 2” were dusty and dormant.

From Washington Post

However, many of those paltry 51 genes contained in the tiger rattlesnake’s genome seemed to be dormant.

From Popular-Science

Others use them as refuges when the creatures need to go dormant during the hot dry summer.

From Science News

The Balbiani body is believed to protect mitochondria during the oocyte’s dormant phase by clustering a majority of the mitochondria together with long amyloid protein fibers.

From Quanta Magazine

In addition to its million-and-a-half year dormant stretch, the fault line is nearly impossible to see from above.

From The Daily Beast

We reported on the efforts of Dr. Susan Harkema, who is working to “wake up” dormant spinal cord neurons.

From The Daily Beast

There was a Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi during this period, but it was largely dormant.

From The Daily Beast

In some patients, symptoms can lie dormant anywhere from seven days to eight weeks.

From The Daily Beast

Is there an innate, yet dormant capacity within the elderly to actually reverse their ailments if only given the right signals?

From The Daily Beast

The dormant accounts most of the banks maintain with the reserve bank are, perhaps, indicative of their attitude toward it.

From Project Gutenberg

And would some measure of great success won on those lines stir the dormant greatness in him?

From Project Gutenberg

This is a great improvement over the secret and dormant methods of getting the capital needed for partnership purposes.

From Project Gutenberg

A few of the volcanoes in the latter region have only recently become extinct; a few may be only dormant.

From Project Gutenberg

In a row stood five large, glass-mounted incubators; behind the glass doors lay, in dormant majesty, five enormous eggs.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• asleep
• comatose
• inert
• inoperative
• latent
• passive
• sidelined
• sluggish