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Insidious vs Latent - What's the difference?

insidious | latent |

As adjectives the difference between insidious and latent

is that insidious is producing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner while latent is existing or present but concealed or inactive.

insidious

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Producing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner.
  • * 1847 , George Lippard, The Quaker City: or, The monks of Monk-Hall
    • Strong and vigorous man as he looks, Livingstone has been for years the victim of a secret and insidious disease.
  • * 1997 , Matthew Wood, The book of herbal wisdom: using plants as medicine
    • At some point in time they may become the source of an insidious cancer.
  • * 2007 , Sharon Weinstein, Ada Lawrence Plumer, Principles and practice of intravenous therapy
    • The nurse always must be alert to signs of slow leak or insidious infiltration.
  • Intending to entrap; alluring but harmful.
  • * Nathaniel Hawthorne
    • The insidious whisper of the bad angel.
  • * 1948 , D.V. Chitaley (editor or publisher), All India Reporter , volume 3, page 341:
    • All these facts clearly appear to me now to establish that the sanctioned scheme was a part of a bigger and […] more insidious scheme which was to hoodwink the creditors and to firmly establish and consolidate the position […]
  • * 1969 , Dorothy Brewster, John Angus Burrell, Dead reckonings in fiction
    • The atmosphere of this insidious city comes out to meet him the moment he touches the European shore; for in London he meets Maria Gostrey just over from France.
  • * 2005 , Anita Desai, Voices in the City , page 189:
    • This seemed to her the worst defilement into which this insidious city had cheated her and in her agitation, she nearly ran into the latrine, […]
  • * 2007 , Joseph Epstein, Narcissus Leaves the Pool , page 171:
    • This is the insidious way sports entrap you: you follow a player, which commits you to his team. You begin to acquire scraps of utterly useless information about teammates, managers, owners, trainers, agents, lawyers.
    Hansel and Gretel were lured by the witch’s insidious gingerbread house.
  • (nonstandard) Treacherous.
  • * 1858 , Phineas Camp Headley, The life of the Empress Josephine: first wife of Napoleon
    • But with whom do you contract that alliance? With the natural enemy of France — that insidious house of Austria — which detests our country from feeling, system, and necessity.
  • * 1912 , Ralph Straus, The prison without a wall
    • ‘Believe me,’ he shouted, ‘these insidious folk talk dangerous nonsense. I hear they are spouting out their ridiculous platitudes not five miles from this park in which we are standing…’
    The battle was lost due to the actions of insidious defectors.

    Derived terms

    * insidiously * insidiousness

    References

    * * *

    latent

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Existing or present but concealed or inactive.
  • * 2008 July 2, Joe Palca, “Scientists Make Herpes Breakthrough”, abstract, All Things Considered , National Public Radio
    • Those infected with a herpes virus are infected for life. That’s because the virus goes "latent ." Sometimes, it awakes from its slumber, producing painful illnesses.

    Related terms

    * latency

    Synonyms

    *(concealed) hidden, invisible *(inactive) dormant

    Antonyms

    *(concealed) apparent, patent, visible

    Anagrams

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