quiescence

plural quiescences

1. countableuncountableThe 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

   1 more example

   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. countableuncountableThe state of being at rest, quiet, still, inactive, or motionless.
3. countableuncountableThe 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. countableuncountablebiologyThe period when a cell is in a term of no growth and no division.
5. countableuncountablebiologyIn insects, a temporary slowing down of metabolism and development in response to adverse environmental conditions, which, unlike diapause, does not involve physiological changes.
6. countableuncountableboard gamesIn computer chess algorithms, the property of a position that is relatively stable and not liable to be disrupted by a winning tactical move.