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Definition of dormant adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

dormant

adjective
 
/ˈdɔːmənt/
 
/ˈdɔːrmənt/
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  1. not active or growing now but able to become active or to grow in the future synonym inactive
    • a dormant volcano
    • During the winter the seeds lie dormant in the soil.
    opposite active
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryDormant is used with these nouns:
    • volcano
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English (in the senses ‘fixed in position’ and ‘latent’): from Old French, ‘sleeping’, present participle of dormir, from Latin dormire ‘to sleep’.
See dormant in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee dormant in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
previously
adverb
 
 
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