quiescent

adjective

qui·​es·​cent kwī-ˈe-sᵊnt 

kwē-

1

: marked by inactivity or repose : tranquilly at rest

2

: causing no trouble or symptoms

quiescent gallstones

quiescently adverb

Did you know?

Hush your puppies and calm your kitties, it’s time to make much (tranquil) ado about quiescent. As you might expect from both its meaning and the sequence of its first four letters, quiescent shares roots with the far more common, and less formal, word quiet. In fact, short is the list of English words beginning "q-u-i-e" that have no kinship with quiet and its various relations suggestive of restfulness and calm. (Our unabridged dictionary lists only two: quiebracha and quiebrahacha, both rare variants of quebracho.) Today’s adjective quiescent traces back to the Latin verb quiēscere, meaning "to become quiet" or "to rest," and was possibly first used by Francis Bacon, who wrote in 1605 that "… as Aristotle endeavoureth to prove, that in all motion there is some point quiescent…" Way to bring it home, Bacon.

Synonyms

• dull
• inactive
• inert
• lethargic
• sleepy
• sluggish
• torpid

Choose the Right Synonym for quiescent

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 quiescent in a Sentence

a group of quiescent loungers recovering from the Thanksgiving feast

Recent Examples on the Web

But just because a stock has been quiescent for a while is no reason to disdain it. —John Dorfman, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025

In the early 2000s, the U.S. invasion of Iraq united Iraqi Kurds in a quest to preserve their autonomy, and the rivalry in greater Kurdistan eclipsed the quiescent Kurdish rivalry within Iraq. —Behnam Ben Taleblu, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2017

Just an hour south of the gaseous maelstrom otherwise known as the City of Angels lurks a quiescent hideaway called Terranea Resort, set like a rare gemstone on 102 acres of Palos Verdes Peninsula oceanfront. —David Weiss, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Russia, for its part, went from being both weak and quiescent in the early 1990s to being a revanchist power, a spoiler with enough capability and cunning to be disruptive. —Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin quiēscent-, quiēscens, present participle of quiēscere "to repose, fall asleep, rest, be quiet," inchoative derivative of a base quiē-, going back to Indo-European *k^wi̯eh₁- "have a rest" — more at quiet entry 1

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for quiescent

• depressant
• fluorescent
• incessant
• putrescent
• senescent
• suppressant
• acquiescent
• adolescent
• arborescent
• coalescent
• convalescent
• deliquescent

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Kids Definition

quiescent

adjective

qui·​es·​cent kwī-ˈes-ᵊnt 

kwē-

: marked by a lack of action or movement

quiescence

-ᵊn(t)s

noun

quiescently adverb

Medical Definition

quiescent

adjective

qui·​es·​cent -ᵊnt 

1

: being in a state of arrest

quiescent tuberculosis

2

: causing no symptoms

quiescent gallstones