dormant
/ˈdoɹmənt/adjective, noun
dormant is spelled D-O-R-M-A-N-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, dormant means “Inactive, sleeping, asleep, suspended” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dormant?
| Letters | 7: D-O-R-M-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,896th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dormant?
Dormant appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dormant?
- UK /ˈdɔːmənt/
- US /ˈdoɹmənt/
- Australia /ˈdoːmənt/
Dormant has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dormant.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-dormant.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dormant?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as dormant (/oɹmənt/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mordant.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dormant
- dormants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dormant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Inactive, sleeping, asleep, suspended.
Grass goes dormant during the winter, waiting for spring before it grows again.
- 2
In a sleeping posture; distinguished from couchant.
a lion dormant
- 3
Leaning.
noun
- 1
A crossbeam or joist.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dormant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense inactive, asleep, suspended:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dormant, endormi, inactif |
| German | schlafend, inaktiv |
| Portuguese | dormente, inativo |
| Spanish | durmiente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dormant come from?
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin dormiēns, present participle of dormiō (“to sleep”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).