dormant

adjective

ˈdȯr-mənt How to pronounce dormant (audio)
Definition of dormantnext
1
as in sleeping
being in a state of suspended consciousness the bears lay dormant in their den during the winter

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in vacant
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment the engine lay dormant in the garage until we found a use for it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word dormant distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of dormant are latent, potential, and quiescent. While all these words mean "not now showing signs of activity or existence," dormant suggests the inactivity of something (such as a feeling or power) as though sleeping.

their passion had lain dormant

Where would latent be a reasonable alternative to dormant?

The words latent and dormant are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, latent applies to a power or quality that has not yet come forth but may emerge and develop.

a latent desire for success

When is it sensible to use potential instead of dormant?

The synonyms potential and dormant are sometimes interchangeable, but potential applies to what does not yet have existence or effect but is likely soon to have.

a potential disaster

When can quiescent be used instead of dormant?

In some situations, the words quiescent and dormant are roughly equivalent. However, quiescent suggests a usually temporary cessation of activity.

the disease was quiescent

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dormant For her latest case, Bridgette is dispatched to the remote East Texas town of Whisper Creek, where a long-dormant serial killer known as The Flower King has resurfaced. — William Earl, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026 The grant program serves as a lifeline; family farms going out of business at record pace, federal grant programs disappearing, and much of our farmland sitting dormant and underutilized. — Andrew Watman, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Her team has dug up living anthrax samples that may have been dormant for 80 years in previous research. — Rj MacKenzie, Popular Science, 5 Aug. 2026 In a Kafkaesque situation, although she’d been recognized as a dormant citizen during his own application process, she was now deemed to have never been Italian. — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for dormant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dormant
  1. sleeping
  2. vacant
  3. asleep
  4. idle
  5. resting
  6. unused
  7. off
  8. dead
Adjective
  • An autopsy showed that the infant died from asphyxiation secondary to a co-sleeping/overlay event with an unsafe sleeping environment.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2026
Definition of sleeping
Adjective
  • Volkanovski recently regained the vacant title and successfully defended it in February.
    — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Either Melissa Hernandez or Aisha Wahab will fill Eric Swalwell’s vacant seat as California’s 14th District representative.
    — Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of vacant
Adjective
  • In case of emergency, there’s a lyre on the nightstand that lulls him asleep.
    — Brandon Follick, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026
  • An intoxicated Flint man was arrested after he was found asleep in his vehicle and blocking lanes of Interstate 75 in Oakland County, Michigan State Police said.
    — Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of asleep
Adjective
  • Most humanoid models run for up to four hours while sitting idle.
    — Elaine Yu,Anniek Bao, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Hundreds of laymen, actuated solely by idle curiosity, received little more than a crick in the neck for their pains.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of idle
Adjective
  • That’s because when the body experiences physical stress, including losing weight quickly, more hairs can shift into a resting phase and fall out a few months later — typically two to three months after the event, Rossi explains.
    — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 17 Feb. 2026
  • This is a condition where, due to stress or hormonal changes, the body puts the hair follicles into a resting phase.
    — Essence, Essence, 19 Dec. 2025
Definition of resting
Adjective
  • Once your washer and drying setup are in place, the rest is about making use of space that would otherwise go unused.
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Unused vacation pay with no cap So, more than $800,000 in unused vacation pay?
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of unused
Adjective
  • The Bears will practice Sunday afternoon, which is expected to be mostly the first-team players who did not play in the game, before an off day Monday.
    — Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Mehidy then produced a superb delivery that straightened past the bat of Beau Webster (5) and clipped the top of off stump to have Australia at 6-193, still trailing by 35 runs and with the tail exposed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of off
Adjective
  • This one stars Cox himself as a mysterious and formidable old man in an undertaker’s suit and parson’s hat who wanders into an Arizona border town in 1890 to gather the names of dead Mexican laborers.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
  • His mother, Sudha Venkatesan, 45, and his brother, Siddharth Aravind, 14, were found dead Tuesday in their home in Acton, some 20 miles northwest of Boston, prosecutors said.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of dead

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dormancy
dormant
dormitories
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Cite this Entry

“Dormant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dormant. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on dormant

Nglish: Translation of dormant for Spanish Speakers

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