The Britannica Dictionary
mobile search
Home
Ask the Editor
Word of the Day
Quizzes
Core Vocabulary
Browse the Dictionary
×
Britannica Homepage
Ask the Editor
Word of the Day
Quizzes
Core Vocabulary
Browse the Dictionary
The Britannica Dictionary
latent
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
latent
(adjective)
latent
/
ˈ
leɪtn̩t/
adjective
latent
/
ˈ
leɪtn̩t/
adjective
Britannica Dictionary definition of LATENT
[
more latent; most latent
]
—
used to describe something (such as a disease) that exists but is not active or cannot be seen
a
latent
infection
The house they bought had
latent
defects.
[+] more examples
[-] hide examples
[+] Example sentences
[-] Hide examples
— latency
/
ˈ
leɪtn̩si/
noun
[
noncount
]
The disease was in a period of
latency
. [=the disease was present but had not produced any noticeable symptoms]
the
latency
period of a disease
[+] more examples
[-] hide examples
[+] Example sentences
[-] Hide examples
ASK THE EDITOR
What are the plural forms of
check-in
,
passerby
, and
spoonful
?
See the answer »
QUIZZES
Vocabulary Quiz
Test your word power
Take the Quiz »
Name That Thing
Take our visual quiz
Test Your Knowledge »
WORD OF THE DAY
expensive
:
costing a lot of money
Learn More »