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dormant

 [dawr-muhnt]   Example Sentences Origin

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.
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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.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English dorma(u)nt < Anglo-French, present participle of dormir < Latin dormīre to sleep; see -ant

Related forms
non·dor·mant, adjective
sem·i·dor·mant, adjective

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

Antonyms
1. awake, active.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Dormant is always a great word to know.
So is typical. Does it mean:
exemplifying most nearly the essential characteristics of a higher group in natural history, and forming the type
the close external resemblance of an organism to some different organism, such that it benefits from mistaken identity, as seeming to be unpalatable
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Example Sentences
  • They can live up to 18 months without a meal and can lie dormant until they do damage.
  • This method exposes to light and air all the weed seeds lying dormant in the soil and encourages weed growth.
  • Mars may not be as dormant as scientists once thought.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
dormant (ˈdɔːmənt)
 
—adj
1.  quiet and inactive, as during sleep
2.  latent or inoperative
3.  (of a volcano) neither extinct nor erupting
4.  biology alive but in a resting torpid condition with suspended growth and reduced metabolism
5.  (usually postpositive) heraldry (of a beast) in a sleeping position
 
[C14: from Old French dormant, from dormir to sleep, from Latin dormīre]
 
'dormancy
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dormant
late 14c., 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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
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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