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.

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.

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

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.

Other Word Forms

• dormancy noun
• nondormant adjective
• semidormant 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

This is thought to be an event that only occurs every few years, when above average rainfall soaks the desert floor, causing dormant seeds to spring to life.

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It also opened the floodgates for the Phillies’ previous dormant offense.

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If being replaced by Nat Sciver-Brunt meant one part of Knight's identity was lost, there was another that had lain dormant, ready to be revived and unleashed.

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Written in the first decade of the 20th century, the symphony offered a whole new way of thinking about American and European music and it sat dormant for some four decades before Bernstein premiered it.

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Now aged 62, her five-day trek to the top of the dormant volcano in Tanzania, is her latest challenge in a bid to raise funds for charity Prevent Breast Cancer.

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Related Words

• asleep 
• comatose 
• inert 
• inoperative 
• latent 
• passive 
• sidelined www.thesaurus.com
• sluggish