dormant
Americanadjective
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lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive, as in sleep; torpid.
The lecturer's sudden shout woke the dormant audience.
- Synonyms:
- quiescent
-
in a state of rest or inactivity; inoperative; in abeyance.
The project is dormant for the time being.
- Synonyms:
- quiescent
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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.
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Pathology. (of a disease) in an inactive phase but not cured; no longer exhibiting symptoms but perhaps only temporarily.
-
undisclosed; unasserted.
dormant musical talent.
- Synonyms:
- latent
-
Geology. (of a volcano) not having erupted within the last 10,000 years, but having the probability of erupting again.
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Botany. temporarily inactive.
dormant buds; dormant seeds.
-
(of a pesticide) applied to a plant during a period of dormancy.
a dormant spray.
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Heraldry. (of an animal) represented as lying with its head on its forepaws, as if asleep.
adjective
-
quiet and inactive, as during sleep
-
latent or inoperative
-
(of a volcano) neither extinct nor erupting
-
biology alive but in a resting torpid condition with suspended growth and reduced metabolism
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(usually postpositive) heraldry (of a beast) in a sleeping position
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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.
-
Not active but capable of renewed activity. Volcanoes that have erupted within historical times and are expected to erupt again are dormant.
Related Words
See inactive.
Other Word Forms
- dormancy noun
- nondormant adjective
- semidormant adjective
Etymology
Origin of dormant
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English dorma(u)nt, from Anglo-French, present participle of dormir, from Latin dormīre “to sleep”; -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This often happens when bacteria enter a dormant state.
From Science Daily
For several decades before the global pandemic in 2020, this threat was dormant, though, and central banks consistently fell behind their inflation targets.
From MarketWatch
Along with its close relative HHV-6A, it belongs to a widespread group of herpesviruses that typically cause a mild early infection before remaining dormant in the body for life.
From Science Daily
Edison has said the leading theory is that the dormant transmission line in Eaton Canyon briefly reenergized on the night of Jan. 7, sparking the fire.
From Los Angeles Times
When you began to reminisce, brain cells dormant just seconds before began firing chemicals at one another.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
