Synonyms & Antonyms for quiescent

Synonyms

Antonyms

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

Did You Know?

Quiescent won't cause you any pain, and neither will its synonyms "latent," "dormant," and "potential," at least not immediately. All four words mean "not now showing signs of activity or existence." "Latent" usually applies to something that has not yet come forth but may emerge and develop, as in "a latent desire for success." "Dormant" implies a state of inactivity similar to sleep, as in "their passions lay dormant." "Potential" applies to what may or may not come to be. "A potential disaster" is a typical example. "Quiescent," which traces to the Latin quiescere (meaning "to become quiet" or "to rest"), often suggests a temporary cessation of activity, as in "a quiescent disease" or "a summer resort quiescent in wintertime."

Examples of quiescent in a Sentence

a group of quiescent loungers recovering from the Thanksgiving feast

Recent Examples on the Web Instead, blood levels of antibodies fall sharply following acute infection, while memory B cells remain quiescent in the bone marrow, ready to take action when needed. — Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times, 26 May 2021 Sleep is not the same as hibernation, or coma, or inebriation, or any other quiescent state, wrote the French sleep scientist Henri Piéron in 1913. — Quanta Magazine, 18 May 2021 The recent uptick in prices comes after decades of generally quiescent inflation. — Washington Post, 10 May 2021 At the very smallest size scales, space is not quiescent. — Don Lincoln, Forbes, 7 Apr. 2021 Meanwhile, the Taliban rely on fear to keep local populations in rural areas quiescent. — New York Times, 30 Mar. 2021 The stock had been quiescent for the previous 2 weeks, drifting down gently. — George Calhoun, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2021 The military takeover belies knee-jerk assumptions of an earlier era, when it was assumed Beijing would prefer an opaque, quiescent regime on its doorstep. — Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2021 Shares of Cryoport, which ships biologic material at cryogenic temperatures — a level of freezing, usually around negative 150 Celsius, at which cells and other living materials enter a quiescent state — are up more than 180 percent this year. — New York Times, 15 Dec. 2020

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