dormant

dor·mant

Use dormant in a sentence

adjective

The definition of dormant is someone or something inactive, sleeping or quiet.

An example of dormant is a volcano that isn't currently erupting.

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dormant

sleeping
as if asleep; quiet; still
inoperative; inactive
Biol.
1. torpid in winter; in a state of suspended animation
2. live, but not actively growing
Heraldry lying down in a sleeping position: a lion dormant

Origin of dormant

Middle English from Old French present participle of dormir from Late Latin dormire from Indo-European base an unverified form dre-, to sleep from source Sanskrit ni-dra, sleep

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"Dormant." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT.

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Dormant. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT

dormant

adjective

Not awake; asleep: “ [He] lay dormant on the scruffy couch, his mouth open, reading glasses slumped on his swollen nostrils” ( Steven Heighton )
Present but not active or manifest though capable of becoming so: “a harrowing experience which … lay dormant but still menacing” ( Charles Jackson ) See Synonyms at inactive.
Temporarily inactive: a dormant volcano.
Being in a condition of biological rest or inactivity characterized by cessation of growth or development and the suspension of many metabolic processes: a dormant bud; a dormant bacterium.

Origin of dormant

Middle English from Old French from present participle of dormir to sleep from Latin dormīre

Related Forms:

dor′man·cy
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"Dormant." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT.

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Dormant. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT

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.
Not active but capable of renewed activity. Volcanoes that have erupted within historical times and are expected to erupt again are dormant.

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MLA Style

"Dormant." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT.

APA Style

Dormant. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT

Adjective

(not comparable)

Inactive, sleeping, asleep, suspended.
Grass goes dormant during the winter, waiting for spring before it grows again.
The bank account was dormant; there had been no transactions in months.
This volcano is dormant but not extinct.
(heraldry) In a sleeping posture; distinguished from couchant.
a lion dormant

Antonyms

(inactive, suspended): active
(volcano: inactive): active, extinct

Origin

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dormiēns, present participle of dormiō (“I sleep”).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"Dormant." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT.

APA Style

Dormant. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DORMANT

dormant - Medical Definition

adj.

Being in a condition of biological rest or inactivity characterized by cessation of growth or development and the suspension of many metabolic processes: a dormant bud; a dormant bacterium.

Related Forms: