Definition of LATENT

Choose the Right Synonym for latent

Adjective

latent, dormant, quiescent, potential mean not now showing signs of activity or existence. latent applies to a power or quality that has not yet come forth but may emerge and develop. a latent desire for success dormant suggests the inactivity of something (such as a feeling or power) as though sleeping. their passion had lain dormant quiescent suggests a usually temporary cessation of activity. the disease was quiescent potential applies to what does not yet have existence or effect but is likely soon to have. a potential disaster

Examples of latent in a Sentence

Adjective

On the ground in Afghanistan there is some latent, if wary, gratitude for American aid over the years, but no one expects to build a foundation for the Taliban's downfall on a couple of million rice cakes. — Michael Duffy, Time, 15 Oct. 2001 There were such inexhaustible possibilities still before her, such opportunities to bring out the latent graces of the old place, without a single irreverent touch of alteration, that the winter months were all too short to plan what spring and autumn executed. — Edith Wharton, Afterward, 1910 Calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy. — Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, 1850 he has a latent talent for acting that he hasn't had a chance to express yet

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The team modified the drug for a slow release across several weeks, targeting tissue in the spleen, bone marrow and brain where latent HIV reservoirs, or clusters of inactive HIV cells, were likely to occur. — Scottie Andrew And Saeed Ahmed, CNN, "Researchers eliminated HIV from the DNA of infected mice. It's the first step toward a cure for humans, they say," 2 July 2019 This is particularly important because one of the criticisms of Ratcliff’s yeast work is that some natural yeasts have multicellular forms, meaning that his experiments might simply be restoring a latent talent. — Quanta Magazine, "Life’s Secrets Sought in a Snowflake," 3 Nov. 2015 The dark arts of Customer Relationship Management will tease out the true desires latent even in—perhaps especially in—impulse buys like the Gravity Blanket. — Collier Meyerson, WIRED, "Instagram Is Sweet and Sort of Boring—but the Ads!," 24 June 2019 The latent violence of the automobile — expressed through automotive design and marketing — allows many drivers to act on those same impulses that impelled Vanderbilt more than a century ago. — Dan Albert, Vox, "Driverless cars are coming. We’ll miss the thrill of the ride.," 21 June 2019 The kids in the show often serve as reminders that even the most well-meaning parents can shield their children from only so much, and for only so long; that is one of the more latent tragedies lurking underneath the show’s bigger ones. — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, "‘Giving You Salt’: The Most Powerful Moment on Big Little Lies So Far," 17 June 2019 For some, particularly since the election of Donald Trump, the physicality and latent violence of axe throwing has served a therapeutic purpose. — Jonny Diamond, Longreads, "Lumbersexuality, a Sport and a Pastime," 8 June 2019 But the latent virus can later become active, making the infection almost impossible to eradicate. — Quanta Magazine, "Inside the Din, Cells Fight Noise With Noise," 22 May 2014 But the site in Western China indicates that people eventually discovered and cherished another latent feature of cannabis - the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. — Joel Achenbach, Anchorage Daily News, "Archaeologists find signs of ritualized cannabis smoking 2,500 years ago in China," 13 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Barack Obama’s victory, the visible symbol of a changing America that no voter could ignore, took all of these latent divides and turbocharged them. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "The 9 thinkers who made sense of 2018’s chaos," 27 Dec. 2018 Obama’s victory, the visible symbol of a changing America that no voter could ignore, took all of these latent divides and turbocharged them. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "The midterm elections revealed that America is in a cold civil war," 7 Nov. 2018 There is nothing as intoxicating as possibility, and the promise latent in every beauty consumable, no matter how tackily packaged or how ludicrous its claims, is matched only by the near guarantee of equivalent disappointment. — Charlotte Shane, The Cut, "I Think About This a Lot: Emily Weiss’s Wedding Prep Routine," 3 Apr. 2018 Most of those deposits are cash, taken off the streets and thereby reducing the latent, associated threat of robbery — a threat not just to those working in the industry but also to the ordinary people around them. — Robb Mandelbaum, New York Times, "Where Pot Entrepreneurs Go When the Banks Just Say No," 4 Jan. 2018 Instead, the characters in this play learn to love one another, traveling into the light and finding their way to the meaning of God through the latent divine spark within each of us. — Mike Fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Funny nativity play captures humble spirit of Christmas," 16 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'latent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.