- lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive, as in sleep; torpid: The lecturer's sudden shout woke the dormant audience.
- in a state of rest or inactivity; inoperative; in abeyance: The project is dormant for the time being.
- in a state of minimal metabolic activity with cessation of growth, either as a reaction to adverse conditions or as part of an organism's normal annual rhythm.
- (of a disease) in an inactive phase but not cured; no longer exhibiting symptoms but perhaps only temporarily.
- undisclosed; unasserted: dormant musical talent.
- (of a volcano) not having erupted within the last 10,000 years, but having the probability of erupting again.
- temporarily inactive: dormant buds; dormant seeds.
- (of a pesticide) applied to a plant during a period of dormancy: a dormant spray.
- (of an animal) represented as lying with its head on its forepaws, as if asleep.
- quiet and inactive, as during sleep
- latent or inoperative
- (of a volcano) neither extinct nor erupting
- alive but in a resting torpid condition with suspended growth and reduced metabolism
- (of a beast) in a sleeping position
