Definition
Dormant means sleeping, not dead — the word comes straight from the Latin dormire, 'to sleep'. A dormant volcano is quiet but capable; a dormant seed waits out the winter with its whole future folded inside it; a dormant talent, account, or conflict can wake at any time. The essential idea is preserved potential: nothing is happening, and everything still could.
Examples
- The volcano has been dormant for two centuries, but geologists still monitor it closely.
- Many seeds lie dormant in the soil until rain and warmth arrive together.
- Her interest in painting lay dormant for years before a single museum visit revived it.
Synonyms
inactive · latent · sleeping · quiescent · suspended
In TOEFL & IELTS
A TOEFL biology and geology favorite: dormant volcanoes, dormant seeds, dormancy in animals (alongside 'hibernation'). Reading questions often test it against 'extinct' — a dormant volcano can still erupt; an extinct one cannot. The noun is 'dormancy'; in IELTS, 'lie dormant' is the collocation worth owning.