quiescent

American  

[kwee-es-uhnt, kwahy-] / kwiˈɛs ənt, kwaɪ- /

adjective

1. being at rest; inactive or motionless; quiet; still.

   a quiescent mind.

   Synonyms:

   latent, dormant, dormant, inert, inactive

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quiescent British  

/ kwɪˈɛsənt /

adjective

1. quiet, inactive, or dormant

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Other Word Forms

• quiescence noun
• quiescency noun
• quiescently adverb

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

Example Sentences

When cells shift from active to quiescent states, the presence and abundance of certain proteins important to metabolism change.

From Science Daily

Through most of their lives, these black holes are quiescent, sitting quietly while matter orbits around them, and having little impact on the galaxy as a whole.

From Science Daily

Grossniklaus' team has now shown that the quiescent egg cell is also in this phase.

From Science Daily

Thanks to this setup, they could observe that particles tend to oscillate as they settle in quiescent air.

From Science Daily

But not by much: The cluster’s gas was surprisingly quiescent, not the maelstrom theorists had predicted.

From Science Magazine