ˈdȯrmənt, ˈdȯ(ə)m- adjective
Etymology: Middle English dormaunt, from Middle French dormant, from present participle of dormir to sleep, from Latin dormire; akin to Greek edrathon, erdathon I slept, Sanskrit drāti, drāyati he sleeps, Old Slavic drěmati to doze, Armenian tartam slow, sleepy
1.
a. archaic : fixed in position
a dormant timber across a foundation
b. : relaxed or immobile
one of the ancient's hoary eyebrows seemed to go up a few millimeters but otherwise his face remained dormant — Earle Birney
2. : inactive:
a. heraldry : lying down with the head resting on the forepaws — distinguished from couchant
b.
(1) : sleeping or drowsing
the preacher, who would interrupt his discourse to denounce a dormant worshiper — American Guide Series: Michigan
(2) : having the faculties suspended or as if suspended : sluggish , lethargic
he lay there dormant with his eyes closed but waiting for a chance to escape
c. : having growth, development, or other biological activity suspended ; especially : being in a state of suspended animation (as in hibernation)
when the surrounding water gets too hot mollusks become dormant
d.
(1) : resting , inactive — used of buds or other plant parts
(2) : associated with, carried out, or applied during dormancy
dormant grafting
a 5-percent dormant oil is used to control fruit-tree leaf roller
e. of a volcano : passing a considerable period in a state of repose yet still eruptive
3.
a. archaic : written with name or particulars blank to be filled in when put to use
b. : of no effect or unevoked or unenforced during an interval of time
reviving a long- dormant statute
c. : vacant or neglected by the rightful holder yet heritable
a peerage said to be dormant
4. : temporarily devoid of discernible activity, energy, power, or effect:
a. : existing in latent form or in a minimum degree but capable of bursting into full activity
it seemed to him that crime was a seed in the whole of humanity … it lay dormant everywhere — Ben Hecht
that native musical talent lay dormant in the mountain folk
feeling between the two girls which had for some time been reasonably dormant flared up again — Ernest Beaglehole
thoughts lie dormant for ages; and then, almost suddenly as it were, mankind finds that they have embodied themselves in institutions — A.N.Whitehead
b. : waiting only to be called into play
his imaginative powers will for the most part lie dormant — C.S.Kilby
which power can never be exercised by the people themselves but must be placed in the hands of agents or lie dormant — John Marshall
c. : having natural or normal functions suspended yet capable of resumption
the Church of England was, indeed, if anything more dormant than the Catholic Church in France — Stringfellow Barr
a dormant corporation
d.
(1) : marked by or giving an appearance of inactivity or stagnation : slow-moving : drowsy
the mouse-chewed papers of an old family in a dormant English hamlet — R.D.Altick
(2) : tending to stagnate socially, intellectually, or artistically : failing to make strides : unprogressive
where science had been dormant since the days of Kepler — S.F.Mason
5. : neglected or allowed to lapse into disregard or obscurity yet revocable or revivable
the controversy lay dormant through 1873 and 1874 and might have expired altogether — J.A.Cassidy
6. : discarded or unused but of potential utility
methods of salvaging dormant metals in the printing industry
7. of stock : moving imperceptibly in the market
8. of a period of time : marked by suspension of activity : covering the extent of dormancy
war all over again after five dormant years — Robert Sherrod
Synonyms: see latent , prone