dormancy

[ dawr-muhn-see ]

noun

1. the state of being dormant.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dormancy¹

First recorded in 1780–90; dorm(ant) + -ancy

Example Sentences

Many of the native plants are in their summer dormancy now, but the garden is still a quilt of greens in every shade, along with native roses and non-natives like lavender and lion’s tail for splashes of color.

From Los Angeles Times

Margaret embraces her garden’s dormancy.

From Los Angeles Times

That goal has come to pass: Something is always blooming in her yard, even during summer dormancy when many native plants go brown or die back to protect themselves from the heat.

From Los Angeles Times

De Anda said he was relieved by Anaya’s reaction to summer dormancy, which is kind of Southern California’s twist on winter dormancy, when many plants lose their leaves and go brown in colder parts of the world.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m hoping we can get past that. A lot of people mistake dormancy for dead; they need to understand that if they just leave those plants, they’ll come back after the rains come. If everybody jumped in with Aurora’s enthusiasm, we would definitely have a very different landscape across Southern California.”

From Los Angeles Times