Dormant

Pronunciation

• GenAm IPA: /ˈdɔɹmÉ™nt/
• RP IPA: /ˈdɔːmÉ™nt/

Alternative forms

• dormaunt obsolete

Origin

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

Full definition of dormant

Adjective

1. 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.
• BurkeIt is by lying dormant a long time, or being ... very rarely exercised, that arbitrary power steals upon a people.
2. (heraldry) In a sleeping posture; distinguished from couchant.a lion dormant

Related terms

• dorm
• dormancy
• dormition
• dormitive
• dormitory

Antonyms

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

Anagrams

• mordant