Inactive vs Dormant - What's the difference?
inactive | dormant |
Not active, temporarily or permanently
Not functioning or operating; broken down
Retired from duty or service
(chemistry) Relatively inert
(physics) Showing no optical activity in polarized light
Inactive, sleeping, asleep, suspended.
* Burke
(heraldry) In a sleeping posture; distinguished from couchant.
Dormant is a synonym of inactive.
As adjectives the difference between inactive and dormant
is that inactive is not active, temporarily or permanently while dormant is inactive, sleeping, asleep, suspended.inactive
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- The volcano is inactive , but is only dormant.
- The photocopier is inactive pending repair.
- Admiral Jones is now on the inactive list.
- Aluminium is inactive towards water.
- Synthetic glycine is optically inactive as it contains equal amounts of the d- and l- form.
Derived terms
* inactively * inactivitySynonyms
* (not active) dull, dormant * (not functioning or operating) idleAntonyms
* (not active) activedormant
English
Alternative forms
* dormaunt (obsolete)Adjective
(-)- Grass goes dormant during the winter, waiting for spring before it grows again.
- The bank account was dormant ; there had been no transactions in months.
- This volcano is dormant but not extinct.
- It is by lying dormant a long time, or being very rarely exercised, that arbitrary power steals upon a people.
- a lion dormant
