dormant
Not active now, as if asleep, but able to wake up later.
dormant in a sentence
- The volcano has been dormant for two hundred years, quietly sleeping beneath the green hills.
- All winter the hedgehog lies dormant in its pile of leaves, waiting for spring to wake it.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to dormant?
- Aactive
- Basleep
- Cawake
- Dlively
Show the answer
B: asleep. The other three mean the opposite of dormant.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to dormant?
- Astill
- Bawake
- Cresting
- Dasleep
Show the answer
B: awake. The other three mean nearly the same as dormant.
Words that mean something similar
asleep, resting, still
Words that mean the opposite
awake, active, lively
More words about time & change
- drastic: Sudden and extreme, with a very big effect.
- durable: Strong enough to last a long time without breaking.
- ebb: To slowly get weaker or drain away, like the tide going out.
- elapse: To go by or pass, used when talking about time.
- endure: To put up with something difficult for a long time.
- ensue: To happen straight after something else, often because of it.
- evolve: To change and develop slowly over time.
- fatal: Causing death, or leading to complete failure.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test