dor·mant

(dôr′mənt)

adj.

1. Not awake; asleep: "[He] lay dormant on the scruffy couch, his mouth open, reading glasses slumped on his swollen nostrils" (Steven Heighton).

2. 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.

3. Temporarily inactive: a dormant volcano.

4. 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.

[Middle English, from Old French, from present participle of dormir, to sleep, from Latin dormīre.]

dor′man·cy n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dor•man•cy

(ˈdɔr mən si)

n.

the condition of being dormant.

[1780–90]

dormancy

the state of being dormant or inert.

dormancy

A period of no growth when deciduous hardy plants loose their leaves and herbaceous plants die back to a crown beneath the ground.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	dormancy - a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction; "the volcano erupted after centuries of dormancy" quiescence, quiescency inaction, inactiveness, inactivity - the state of being inactive hibernation - cessation from or slowing of activity during the winter; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals aestivation, estivation - (zoology) cessation or slowing of activity during the summer; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals during a hot or dry period slumber - a dormant or quiescent state
	2.	dormancy - quiet and inactive restfulness quiescence, quiescency, sleeping repose, rest, ease, relaxation - freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility); "took his repose by the swimming pool" vegetation - inactivity that is passive and monotonous, comparable to the inactivity of plant life; "their holiday was spent in sleep and vegetation"

dormancy

noun

The condition of being temporarily inactive:

abeyance, abeyancy, intermission, latency, quiescence, suspension.

Translations

dormance

dormancy

[ˈdɔːmənsɪ] N [of volcano] → inactividad f; [of virus] → estado m latente; [of plant] → reposo m (vegetativo)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dormancy

[ˈdɔː^rmənsi] n [plant] → dormance f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

dormancy

n (form: = inactivity) (of volcano) → Untätigkeit f; (of plant) → Ruhe f; (of virus) → Inaktivität f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dormancy

n. sueño pesado, estupor, letargo.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

angustifolia (Asteraceae): Afterripening pattern during cold stratification.

Effect of growth by polyethylene glycol and application of dormancy-breaking treatments on two species of Foniculum vulgare mill

Dried seeds that had water content of about 12% were sealed in plastic containers and stored at -20[degrees]C to prevent afterripening.

Seed dormancy imposed by covering tissues interrelates to shattering and seed morphological characteristics in weedy rice

Two starting periods were used for the control treatment to ensure that there was no difference in total germination from the effects of afterripening or aging during an 8-wk period.

Germination of threadleaf sedge (Cyperaceae: Carex filifolia) *

It sometimes is desirable to arrest afterripening and postpone germination, such as when adverse weather conditions necessitate a delay in planting stratified seeds.

Acclimation and adaptive responses of woody plants to environmental stresses

Seeds require one to three months of afterripening or dry storage at 4-25[degrees]C.

GERMINATION REQUIREMENTS OF SEEDS OF HELIANTHUS PARADOXUS (ASTERACEAE)

Seeds of Pitcher's thistle are dormant when dispersed, but a combination of low temperatures and afterripening can break dormancy.

Germination Ecology of a Federally Threatened Endemic Thistle, Cirsium pitcheri, of the Great Lakes