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View synonyms for latent

latent

[ leyt-nt ]

adjective

  1. present but not visible, apparent, or activated; existing as potential:

    latent ability.

    Synonyms: veiled, quiescent, dormant

    Antonyms: active, open

  2. Pathology. (of an infectious agent or disease) in a phase of being hidden or unrecognized; not yet exhibiting symptoms. Compare dormant ( def 4 ).
  3. Psychology. existing in unconscious or dormant form but potentially able to achieve expression:

    latent learning,

    a latent emotion.

  4. Botany. (of buds that are not externally manifest) dormant or undeveloped.


latent

/ ˈleɪtənt /

adjective

  1. potential but not obvious or explicit
  2. (of buds, spores, etc) dormant
  3. pathol (esp of an infectious disease) not yet revealed or manifest
  4. (of a virus) inactive in the host cell, its nucleic acid being integrated into, and replicated with, the host cell's DNA
  5. psychoanal relating to that part of a dream expressive of repressed desires Compare manifest

    latent content

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈlatently, adverb
  • ˈlatency, noun
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Other Words From

  • la·tent·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of latent1

First recorded before 1610–20; from Latin latent- (stem of latēns ), present participle of latēre “to lie hidden”; -ent
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Word History and Origins

Origin of latent1

C17: from Latin latēnt-, from latens present participle of latēre to lie hidden
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Synonym Study

Latent, potential refer to powers or possibilities existing but hidden or not yet actualized. Latent emphasizes the hidden character or the dormancy of what is named: latent qualities, defects, diseases. That which is potential exists in an as yet undeveloped state, but is thought of as capable of coming into full being or activity at some future time: potential genius, tragedy. Potential may be applied also to tangibles: High-tension wires are a potential source of danger.
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Example Sentences

By the time England slumped into its latest lockdown, I would come to think of my project not merely as a surrogate for my latent curiosity but as an inspiration to endure.

Nordica set the benchmark for accessible or latent power in 2019 with the Enforcer 104 Free.

So when I said earlier that cognition is not intrinsically conscious, that’s just saying that memories are, for the most part, latent.

Washington can be a lonely place at the top, and these climbers are coming up together, resting on their excellence and latent potential.

From Time

I would rather feel they are bringing to the surface latent prejudices that are already there.

But a recent trend is capitalizing on our latent desires to actually become the famous people we love and love to hate.

So it carbonates all of these, I'd say latent desires, to have more meaning in his life.

Many pent-up resentments and latent frustrations are boiling inside the Negro, and he must release them.

It was more science faction, a monument to human potential—including the latent potential for self-destruction.

But the "Zoabiz" was a small reminder that latent chauvinism is alive and well.

Now listen to me, said the dying woman, aloud, as if making a great effort to revive one latent spark of energy.

That high-pressure engines owed their advantages mainly to a reduction of the relative importance of this latent heat.

In descending it is recondensed, and by the process by which its atoms are brought together its latent heat is made sensible.

Again she felt that everlasting calm, arguing such latent forces, was the thing she hated most in him.

But it possessed a latent purchasing power such as probably no other Government in history ever had.

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