Meaning & use
dormant
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not active for a time, as if asleep, but able to become active again later.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a dormant volcano, the volcano is dormant.
Patterns
- lie dormant
- remain dormant
The volcano has been dormant for hundreds of years.
Seeds can lie dormant in the soil for decades.
His interest in painting stayed dormant until retirement.
adjectivenot comparablebiology
Describing a plant, animal or cell that has temporarily slowed its growth or activity, such as in winter.
Grammar: Often used in biology and gardening: dormant buds in winter.
Patterns
- go dormant
- a dormant season
The trees are dormant in winter and do not grow.
Bears enter a dormant state during the coldest months.
The virus can stay dormant in the body for years.
Common combinations
- lie dormant
- The idea lay dormant for years before anyone used it.
- remain dormant
- The disease can remain dormant for a long time.
- dormant volcano
- The island has a dormant volcano.
- dormant account
- The bank closed my dormant account.
- go dormant
- The grass goes dormant in the dry season.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inactive
- Inactive is the plain word for not doing anything, while dormant stresses the chance of waking again.
- sleeping
- Sleeping is more literal and informal, whereas dormant sounds scientific or figurative.
- latent
- Latent means present but hidden and not yet showing, as in latent talent, while dormant suggests it once was active or can become active.
- idle
- Idle suggests something that is not being used, such as a machine, without the biological feel of dormant.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: dormant or extinct? dormant or domestic?
dormant vs extinct
Extinct means gone forever, whereas dormant means temporarily inactive and able to return.
dormant vs domestic
Domestic means of the home or the country and is unrelated to being inactive.
Practice
A volcano that is dormant ___.
Choose one answer.
Dormant means inactive for now but capable of waking. Extinct, not dormant, means gone for good.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dormant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.