quiescent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quiescent
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin quiēscent- (stem of quiēscēns, present participle of quiēscere ), equivalent to qui-, base meaning “rest, quiet” + -ēsc- inchoative suffix + -ent- -ent
Explanation
The adjective quiescent means "being quiet and still," like the quiescent moments lying in a hammock on a beautiful summer Sunday. To be quiescent, pronounced "qwhy-ESS-ent," is to be quiet, resting, which is exactly what its Latin origin quiescens means: In our busy world, it is hard to find a place to be quiescent. It has a second meaning: "causing no symptoms." For example, if a disease is quiescent, you probably won't know you have it. And finally, quiescent can mean "not activated," like quiescent cleaning products that don't get the stains out.
Vocabulary lists containing quiescent
Mellow Out: Synonyms for "Calm"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
40 SAT words Beginning with "Q"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Shhhh! Synonyms for "Quiet"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
"Grocery-store inflation accelerated notably after a string of quiescent readings, underscoring the lags between energy price shocks and nonenergy consumer prices."
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026
Alexis said, "It is clearly important to focus on proliferative cancer cells, but we also need to understand this population of quiescent dormant cancer cells. And that's been less studied."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
“Core inflation away from the fast-moving segments that are impacted by energy have been very quiescent, and I think we are going to continue to see that,” Bessent said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
They then cross-matched the findings with a catalog of 2.4 million quiescent galaxies compiled over recent decades by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 17, 2024
By the late innings of the game the rest of the room—a few laggard coals glowed orange beneath the fireplace grate—lay sleeping in soft, quiescent shadows.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
