latent
Americanadjective
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present but not visible, apparent, or activated; existing as potential.
latent ability.
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Pathology. (of an infectious agent or disease) in a phase of being hidden or unrecognized; not yet exhibiting symptoms.
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Psychology. existing in unconscious or dormant form but potentially able to achieve expression.
latent learning,
a latent emotion.
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Botany. (of buds that are not externally manifest) dormant or undeveloped.
adjective
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potential but not obvious or explicit
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(of buds, spores, etc) dormant
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pathol (esp of an infectious disease) not yet revealed or manifest
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(of a virus) inactive in the host cell, its nucleic acid being integrated into, and replicated with, the host cell's DNA
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psychoanal relating to that part of a dream expressive of repressed desires Compare manifest
latent content
Related Words
Latent, potential refer to powers or possibilities existing but hidden or not yet actualized. Latent emphasizes the hidden character or the dormancy of what is named: latent qualities, defects, diseases. That which is potential exists in an as yet undeveloped state, but is thought of as capable of coming into full being or activity at some future time: potential genius, tragedy. Potential may be applied also to tangibles: High-tension wires are a potential source of danger.
Other Word Forms
- latency noun
- latently adverb
Etymology
Origin of latent
First recorded before 1610–20; from Latin latent- (stem of latēns ), present participle of latēre “to lie hidden”; -ent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Cardiac disease can have what we call a latent period – it may not manifest at the time of a screen and instead happen down the line," says Augustine.
From BBC
What’s missing is any account of the mechanisms that translate latent capacity into sustained strategic effect.
This latent threat changes how we relate to each over.
From BBC
The rest pulls at the strings of the audience’s latent anxiety, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
From Salon
Buried in the reddish soil of southern China lies latent power: one of the largest clusters of crucial rare earths is mined around the clock by a secretive and heavily guarded industry.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
