1
as in sleeping
being in a state of suspended consciousness
the bears lay dormant in their den during the winter
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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
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Recent Examples of dormant
Even though hydrangeas are dormant during the winter months, their roots still require moisture.
—
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
Additionally, many plants go dormant during winter and require less water.
—Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 4 Jan. 2026
Emotions rise to the surface and what has long lain dormant below the threshold of consciousness demands expression in the days surrounding the full moon (plus or minus two days).
—Danijela Pilic, Glamour, 3 Jan. 2026
These include the ability to form sticky biofilms that anchor them to surfaces, robust DNA repair mechanisms to counter radiation damage, and the capacity to form tough, dormant spores that endure even the most punishing conditions.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dormant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dormant
Adjective
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Officials believe the fire started in the occupied home and spread to the vacant home next door.—
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No public update on the project has been released since 2023, and the land remains vacant.—
Adjective
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Have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting a good night's sleep.—
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Two other children, who were Dupree’s daughters, were asleep inside the house and were not injured.—
Adjective
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Dumas has worked for Valero for four years but just moved to the Benicia location from Arizona a year ago, just a few months before the energy company announced a possible plan to cease or idle operations.—
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One such power line, the century-old Mesa-Sylmar, owned by SoCal Edison, had been idle for some fifty years.—
Adjective
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This is a condition where, due to stress or hormonal changes, the body puts the hair follicles into a resting phase.—
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Taking minoxidil orally can support the hair follicle cycle and trigger anagen (the resting phase) prematurely.—
Adjective
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The first rule of organizing any room is to declutter unused and unusable items.—
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The proposal also lays out how to spend money from California’s signature cap-and-trade program, which sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions and allows large polluters to buy and sell unused emission allowances at quarterly auctions.—
Adjective
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Using his off hand, Brown spun the ball off the glass and through the hoop while Shead fouled him.—
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In November 2022, the four college students were found stabbed to death in an off-campus home in the small community of Moscow, Idaho.—
Adjective
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The cemetery of good but dead laws is infinite; the main thing is that social forces exist.—
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These ghosts, which take the form of their dead friends, are mostly just goofy, with the shoddy special effects and glowy auras giving the whole thing a distinctly Haunted Mansion vibe; critically, the threat never feels real, which undermines any tension.—
Adjective
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In contrast, the north-pole was thought to be geologically inactive.—
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The rest, four of which are now inactive, were in Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Georgia, Michigan and Indiana.—
Cite this Entry
“Dormant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dormant. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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