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quiescent
adjective
Did you know?
Hush your puppies and calm your kitties, it’s time to make much (tranquil) ado about quiescent. As you might expect from both its meaning and the sequence of its first four letters, quiescent shares roots with the far more common, and less formal, word quiet. In fact, short is the list of English words beginning "q-u-i-e" that have no kinship with quiet and its various relations suggestive of restfulness and calm. (Our unabridged dictionary lists only two: quiebracha and quiebrahacha, both rare variants of quebracho.) Today’s adjective quiescent traces back to the Latin verb quiēscere, meaning "to become quiet" or "to rest," and was possibly first used by Francis Bacon, who wrote in 1605 that "… as Aristotle endeavoureth to prove, that in all motion there is some point quiescent…" Way to bring it home, Bacon.
Synonyms
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.
dormant suggests the inactivity of something (such as a feeling or power) as though sleeping.
quiescent suggests a usually temporary cessation of activity.
potential applies to what does not yet have existence or effect but is likely soon to have.
Examples of quiescent in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quiescent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
borrowed from Latin quiēscent-, quiēscens, present participle of quiēscere "to repose, fall asleep, rest, be quiet," inchoative derivative of a base quiē-, going back to Indo-European *kwi̯eh1- "have a rest" — more at quiet entry 1
1605, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Quiescent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quiescent. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
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