Dormant

Pronunciation: /ˈdɔrmənt/

Definitions of dormant

adjective describing something that is inactive or sleeping, not currently in use or showing signs of life

Example Sentences

A1 The bear went into a dormant state for the winter.

A2 The volcano has been dormant for centuries.

B1 The company's social media account has been dormant for months.

B2 The virus can lay dormant in the body for years before showing symptoms.

C1 The artist's creativity lay dormant for years until she found inspiration again.

C2 The dormant volcano suddenly erupted, surprising everyone in the area.

Examples of dormant in a Sentence

formal The volcano has been dormant for centuries, but scientists are monitoring it closely.

informal The project has been dormant for a while, but we're hoping to pick it up again soon.

slang I used to be really into skateboarding, but now my board is just dormant in the garage.

figurative Her creativity lay dormant for years until she finally found inspiration again.

Grammatical Forms of dormant

• past tense: dormanted
• plural: dormants
• comparative: more dormant
• superlative: most dormant
• present tense: dormants
• future tense: will be dormant
• perfect tense: have dormanted
• continuous tense: is dormanted
• singular: dormant
• positive degree: dormant
• infinitive: to dormant
• gerund: dormanting
• participle: dormant

Origin and Evolution of dormant

First Known Use: 0015 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'dormant' originated from the Latin word 'dormire' meaning 'to sleep'.

Evolution of the word: Originally used in the 15th century to describe something that is asleep or inactive, the word 'dormant' has evolved to also represent something that is temporarily inactive or hidden, such as dormant volcanoes or dormant bank accounts.