dormant

(dôrˈmənt)

1. Lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive.
2. Latent but capable of being activated: “a harrowing experience which . . . lay dormant but still menacing” (Charles Jackson).
3. Temporarily quiescent: a dormant volcano. See Synonyms at inactive, latent.
4. In a condition of biological rest or inactivity characterized by cessation of growth or development and the suspension of many metabolic processes.

Related Forms:

• dorˈman·cy noun