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dormant

 - 4 dictionary results

dor⋅mant

  [dawr-muhnt]
–adjective
1. lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive, as in sleep; torpid: The lecturer's sudden shout woke the dormant audience.
2. in a state of rest or inactivity; inoperative; in abeyance: The project is dormant for the time being.
3. Biology. in a state of minimal metabolic activity with cessation of growth, either as a reaction to adverse conditions or as part of an organism's normal annual rhythm.
4. undisclosed; unasserted: dormant musical talent.
5. (of a volcano) not erupting.
6. Botany. temporarily inactive: dormant buds; dormant seeds.
7. (of a pesticide) applied to a plant during a period of dormancy: a dormant spray.
8. Heraldry. (of an animal) represented as lying with its head on its forepaws, as if asleep.
Use dormant in a Sentence
Origin:
1350–1400; ME dorma(u)nt < AF, prp. of dormir < L dormīre to sleep; see -ant

Synonyms:
1, 2. quiescent. See inactive. 4. latent.

Antonyms:
1. awake, active.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To dormant
dor·mant   (dôr'mənt)   
adj.  

  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.


[Middle English, from Old French, from present participle of dormir, to sleep, from Latin dormīre.]
dor'man·cy n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dormant 
c.1386, from O.Fr. dormant, prp. of dormir "to sleep," from L. dormire "to sleep," from I.E. base *dre- "to sleep" (cf. O.C.S. dremati "to sleep, doze," Gk. edrathon "I slept," Skt. drati "sleeps").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
dormant   (dôr'mənt)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. 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.

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


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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