Standard Lemma guide

dormant

adj · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈdɔːmənt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ˈdoɹmənt/
  • New-Jersey: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˈdoːmənt/
  • CMU ARPABET: D AO1 R M AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Inactive, sleeping, asleep, suspended.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

In a sleeping posture; distinguished from couchant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: government, heraldry, hobbies, lifestyle, monarchy, nobility, politics

Examples

  • a lion dormant

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Leaning.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: architecture

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A crossbeam or joist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: architecture

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective

Meaning 5

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a dormant volcano

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inactive

Antonyms: active

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

inactive but capable of becoming active

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • her feelings of affection are dormant but easily awakened

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abeyant

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • dormant buds
  • a hibernating bear
  • torpid frogs

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hibernating(a), torpid

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dormiēns, present participle of dormiō (“to sleep”).

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: спящ (spjašt) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Bulgarian: латентен (latenten) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Bulgarian: неактивен (neaktiven) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Catalan: latent — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Chinese Mandarin: 睡眠狀態的 /睡眠状态的 (shuìmián zhuàngtài de) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Chinese Mandarin: 休眠 (xiūmián) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Danish: sovende — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Danish: slumrende — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Danish: hvilende — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Dutch: niet actief — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Dutch: slapend — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Dutch: latent — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Esperanto: dormanta — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Finnish: horroksessa oleva — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • French: dormant — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • French: endormi — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • French: inactif — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Galician: dormente — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • German: schlafend — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • German: inaktiv — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Greek: κοιμώμενος (koimómenos) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Greek: κοιμισμένος (koimisménos) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Greek: αδρανής (adranís) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Hindi: निष्क्रिय (niṣkriya) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Hungarian: szunnyadó — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Hungarian: alvó — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Indonesian: terbengkalai — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Japanese: 休止中の (kyūshichū no) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Japanese: 休眠中の (kyūminchū no) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Māori: maurinoho — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sovende — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Persian: خفته (xofte) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Persian: غنوده (γonude) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Polish: uśpiony — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Portuguese: dormente — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Portuguese: inativo — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Romanian: inactiv — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Romanian: suspendat — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Russian: неакти́вный (neaktívnyj) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Russian: спя́щий (spjáščij) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Russian: усну́вший (usnúvšij) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Russian: лате́нтный (laténtnyj) — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Scottish Gaelic: dìomhair — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Lower Sorbian: spicy — inactive, asleep, suspended
  • Spanish: latente — inactive, asleep, suspended