latent

American  

[layt-nt] / ˈleɪt nt /

adjective

1. present but not visible, apparent, or activated; existing as potential.

   latent ability.

   Synonyms:

   veiled, quiescent, dormant

   Antonyms:

   active, open

2. Pathology. (of an infectious agent or disease) in a phase of being hidden or unrecognized; not yet exhibiting symptoms.

3. Psychology. existing in unconscious or dormant form but potentially able to achieve expression.

   latent learning,

   a latent emotion.

4. Botany. (of buds that are not externally manifest) dormant or undeveloped.

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latent British  

/ ˈleɪtənt /

adjective

1. potential but not obvious or explicit

2. (of buds, spores, etc) dormant

3. pathol (esp of an infectious disease) not yet revealed or manifest

4. (of a virus) inactive in the host cell, its nucleic acid being integrated into, and replicated with, the host cell's DNA

5. psychoanal relating to that part of a dream expressive of repressed desires Compare manifest

   latent content

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Synonym Usage

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

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Etymology

Origin of latent

First recorded before 1610–20; from Latin latent- (stem of latēns ), present participle of latēre “to lie hidden”; see -ent

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Explanation

Latent is an adjective that you use to describe something that is capable of becoming active or at hand, though it is not currently so. The adjective latent is a tricky word to define because it refers to something there but not there. That is, latent means something that is capable of becoming active or at hand but has not yet achieved that state. The word arrived in Middle English from the Latin word latēre which means "to lie hidden." It can have somewhat negative connotations because it is often used in a medical context, as in a latent illness or infection, but it can also mean good things, such as someone discovering they have latent talents or capabilities.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

latent

He found precedent in paintings where bloodshed is latent or occurs just beyond the frame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Rombach, 33, helped develop latent diffusion, a breakthrough that underpins many of today's AI image-generation systems.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Liang’s team at DeepSeek came up with some of the most important workarounds, including multihead latent attention, or MLA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Unfortunately, your phone’s app is more likely to try to satisfy that latent desire than to force you to understand how complex weather modeling really is.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

Was Watt familiar with the concept of latent heat when he devised his new engine, and did the new theory inform his new technology?

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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Related Words

• inherent
• lurking
• smoldering
• suppressed
• underlying
• unrealized
• veiled

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