quiescent

American  

[kwee-es-uhnt, kwahy-] / kwiˈɛs ənt, kwaɪ- /

adjective

1. being at rest; inactive or motionless; quiet; still.

   a quiescent mind.

   Synonyms:

   latent, dormant, inert, inactive

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quiescent British  

/ kwɪˈɛsənt /

adjective

1. quiet, inactive, or dormant

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Other Word Forms

• quiescence noun
• quiescency noun
• quiescently adverb

Etymology

Origin of quiescent

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin quiēscent- (stem of quiēscēns, present participle of quiēscere ), equivalent to qui-, base meaning “rest, quiet” + -ēsc- inchoative suffix + -ent- -ent

Explanation

The adjective quiescent means "being quiet and still," like the quiescent moments lying in a hammock on a beautiful summer Sunday. To be quiescent, pronounced "qwhy-ESS-ent," is to be quiet, resting, which is exactly what its Latin origin quiescens means: In our busy world, it is hard to find a place to be quiescent. It has a second meaning: "causing no symptoms." For example, if a disease is quiescent, you probably won't know you have it. And finally, quiescent can mean "not activated," like quiescent cleaning products that don't get the stains out.

Example Sentences

When cells shift from active to quiescent states, the presence and abundance of certain proteins important to metabolism change.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2024

Vesuvius’s importance, too, seems to have waned: the volcano has been quiescent since 1944.

From Scientific American • Aug. 16, 2023

But not by much: The cluster’s gas was surprisingly quiescent, not the maelstrom theorists had predicted.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 15, 2023

"The risk metrics that look quiescent and favoring idiosyncrasy may in fact be a chimera much more vulnerable to a macro shock than implied currently," said Arnim Holzer, global macro strategist at EAB Investment Group.

From Reuters • Jul. 5, 2023

By the late innings of the game the rest of the room—a few laggard coals glowed orange beneath the fireplace grate—lay sleeping in soft, quiescent shadows.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson