- latent⇄adj. 1. present but not active; hidden; concealed.
Ex. latent hostility, latent ability. The power of a grain of wheat to grow into a plant remains latent if it is not planted.
2. present only in the undeveloped stage of an infection; not ye - latent⇄adv. latently.
- latent⇄latent, adjective, noun.
- latent⇄noun a fingerprint not readily visible to the eye.
Ex. The police had to take many ... latents which were found at the scene of the crime (Erle Stanley Gardner).