quiescence

Noun

quiescence (countable and uncountable, plural quiescences)

1. The state of being quiescent; dormancy.
   • Old Faithful is sometimes degraded by being made a laundry. Garments placed in the crater during quiescence are ejected thoroughly washed when the eruption takes place.1883, Henry J. Winser, The Yellowstone National Park-A Manual for Tourists, New York: G.P. Putnam Sons, page 46
   • The man does not theologize; he does not contemplate; he does not envision the full possibilities of the occasion. His one act is belly-oriented, and it is an act of quiescence, not of initiative.1973, Phyllis Trible, “Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation”, in Journal of the American Academy of Religion, volume 41, number 1, page 40
2. The state of being at rest, quiet, still, inactive, or motionless.
3. The action of bringing something to rest or making it quiescent; the action of coming to rest or to a quiescent state.
   • I pray you, Salviatus, to tell me ... the cause of the Pendulum's quiescence.1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue 2
4. The period when a cell is in a term of no growth and no division.
5. In insects, a temporary slowing down of metabolism and development in response to adverse environmental conditions, which, unlike diapause, does not involve physiological changes.
6. In computer chess algorithms, the property of a position that is relatively stable and not liable to be disrupted by a winning tactical move.