What does dormant mean?

Definitions for dormant
ˈdɔr məntdor·mant

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word dormant.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. dormant, hibernating(a), torpidadjective

    in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation

    "dormant buds"; "a hibernating bear"; "torpid frogs"

  2. dormant, inactiveadjective

    (of e.g. volcanos) not erupting and not extinct

    "a dormant volcano"

  3. dormant(ip), sleepingadjective

    lying with head on paws as if sleeping

  4. abeyant, dormantadjective

    inactive but capable of becoming active

    "her feelings of affection are dormant but easily awakened"

Wiktionary

  1. dormantadjective

    Inactive, asleep, suspended.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Dormantadjective

    Etymology: dormant, French.

    He a dragon! if he be, ’tis a very peaceful one: I can insure his anger is dormant; or should he seem to rouse, ’tis well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top. William Congreve, Old Batchelor.

    If a lion were the coat of Judah, yet were it not a lion rampant, but rather couchant and dormant. Thomas Browne, Vulg. Err.

    With this radius he is said to strike and kill his prey, for which he lies, as it were, dormant, ’till it swims within his reach. Nehemiah Grew, Musæum.

    There were other dormant musters of soldiers throughout all parts of the realm, that were put in readiness, but not drawn together. Francis Bacon, War with Spain.

    It would be prudent to reserve these privileges dormant, never to be produced but upon great occasions. Jonathan Swift.

    Old dormant windows must confess
    Her beams: their glimmering spectacles,
    Struck with the splendor of her face,
    Do th’ office of a burning-glass. John Cleveland.

ChatGPT

  1. dormant

    Dormant typically refers to a state of temporary inactivity, resting, or lying dormant. It is often used to describe a condition or state where something is temporarily asleep, inactive, or not currently functioning but has the potential to become active again in the future. This can apply to various areas such as biology, businesses, volcanoes, or legal rights.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Dormantadjective

    sleeping; as, a dormant animal; hence, not in action or exercise; quiescent; at rest; in abeyance; not disclosed, asserted, or insisted on; as, dormant passions; dormant claims or titles

  2. Dormantadjective

    in a sleeping posture; as, a lion dormant; -- distinguished from couchant

  3. Dormantadjective

    a large beam in the roof of a house upon which portions of the other timbers rest or " sleep."

  4. Etymology: [See Dormant, a.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Dormant

    dor′mant, adj. sleeping: at rest: not used, in abeyance (as a title): in a sleeping posture: (archit.) leaning.—n. a crossbeam: a joist.—n. Dor′mancy, quiescence.—ns. Dor′mer-win′dow, a vertical window, esp. of a sleeping-room (formerly called dormer), on the sloping roof of a house; Dormi′tion, sleeping.—adj. Dor′mitive, causing sleep (of medicine), as opium.—ns. Dor′mitory, a large sleeping-chamber with many beds; Dor′mouse, a small rodent intermediate between the squirrel and the mouse, so called because torpid in winter:—pl. Dor′mice; Dor′tour (Spens.) a dormitory. [Fr. dormir—L. dormīre, to sleep.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

  1. dormant

    In mine warfare, the state of a mine during which a time delay feature in a mine prevents it from being actuated.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. dormant

    (Fr.). Sleeping. In heraldic representation, an animal dormant has its head resting on its fore-paws, whereas an animal couchant has its head erect.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of dormant in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of dormant in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of dormant in a Sentence

  1. Letitia Elizabeth Landon:

    Whether wealth bring the curse of selfishness along with it, or that the leaven was in our nature, only dormant till called forth by circumstances, we are only too apt to misuse it, even as others have done before us.

  2. James Bond:

    I will be asked about him until my dying days it just goes with the territory. Hes a beloved character. I was honored to play the role and I rejuvenated a franchise that had been dormant. HALLE BERRY CHOOSES NEXT JAMES BOND STAR : ID GO FOR HIM Brosnan previously endorsed Tom Hardy as the next Bond, telling The Mail on Sunday in 2018, I think Tom Hardy could be a good Bond. Id be happy to see him do it. You need an actor who can put a bit of wiggle into it thats what makes Bond. FORMER BOND DIRECTOR SAYS ROBERT PATTINSON SHOULD BE THE NEXT 007 Brosnan also addressed the womanizing spy potentially needing to adapt to a post - #MeToo era. Without question, yes... The #MeToo movement has been relevant and significant and well needed in our society.

  3. Mitch Prinstein:

    Our species is uniquely and remarkably attuned to our social position because many years ago we relied on each other for safety, research now reveals that social rejection activates the same regions of the brain that are known to respond to physical pain, and also expresses dormant DNA to prepare our bodies for imminent injury. Unfortunately, this response is no longer necessary, so the expression of these genes leaves us more vulnerable to viral infections and more likely to suffer from inflammation-related illnesses.

  4. Hari Shankar:

    Cobras generally do not bite unless they are highly provoked. And after 8 p.m. they're generally dormant.

  5. Steve Vladeck:

    For years, conservatives have been pressuring the court to reinvigorate long-dormant limits on Congress' power to delegate regulatory authority to administrative agencies.

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Translations for dormant

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"dormant." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/dormant>.

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