quiescent
[kwee-es-uh nt, kwahy-]
- being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless: a quiescent mind.
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Origin of quiescent
1600–10; < Latin quiēscent- (stem of quiēscēns, present participle of quiēscere), equivalent to qui-, base meaning “rest, quiet” + -ēsc- inchoative suffix + -ent- -ent
Synonyms
See more synonyms for quiescent on Thesaurus.comdormant, latent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for quiescent
Contemporary Examples
Maybe deep in our brains, a few bacteria are nestled near some quiescent virus and a touch of fetal DNA?
Egypt is no longer the quiescent subordinate partner it once was.
Historical Examples
The Garden City seems to be in a quiescent state at present.
It befitted the day, a day outwardly so quiescent, yet in which so much was going on.
The CavalierGeorge Washington Cable
The disease is overcome, quiescent; the wound is healed over.
The StrawEugene O'Neill
Here we saw what Rome was in action, whatever she might be when quiescent.
Apologia Pro Vita SuaJohn Henry Cardinal Newman
What an awakening from this quiescent state was hers this day!
DeerbrookHarriet Martineau
quiescent
- quiet, inactive, or dormant
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin quiescere to rest
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for quiescent
adj.
c.1600, from Latin quiescentem (nominative quiescens), present participle of quiescere, inchoative verb formed from quies "rest, quiet" (see quiet (n.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper