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.
dormant
(ˈdɔːmənt) or dormient
adj1. quiet and inactive, as during sleep
2. latent or inoperative
3. (Geological Science) (of a volcano) neither extinct nor erupting
4. (Biology) biology alive but in a resting torpid condition with suspended growth and reduced metabolism
5. (Heraldry) (usually postpositive) heraldry (of a beast) in a sleeping position
[C14: from Old French dormant, from dormir to sleep, from Latin dormīre]
ˈdormancy n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
dor•mant
(ˈdɔr mənt)
adj. 1. inactive, as in sleep; torpid.
2. being in a state of minimal metabolic activity with cessation of growth.
3. undeveloped, unasserted, or inactive; latent: talents that lay dormant.
4. (of a volcano) not erupting.
5. held in abeyance; temporarily inoperative.
6. (of a pesticide) applied to a plant during a period of dormancy: a dormant spray.
7. (of a heraldic animal) lying with the head on the forepaws.
[1350–1400; Middle English
dorma(u)nt < Anglo-French, present participle of
dormir < Latin
dormīre to sleep; see
-ant]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
dor·mant
(dôr′mənt)1. Biology In an inactive state in which growth stops and metabolism is slowed. Many plants survive the winter as dormant seeds or bulbs. Hibernating animals are also in a dormant state.
2. Geology Not active but capable of renewed activity: a dormant volcano.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
dormant
In mine warfare, the state of a mine during which a time delay feature in a mine prevents it from being actuated.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.