Dormancy; inertness (8)
I believe the answer is:
inaction
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'dormancy' is the first definition.
(I've seen this before)
'inertness' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for inaction that I've seen before include "doing nothing whatsoever" , "Inertia" , "Lack of movement or endeavour" , "Failure to do anything" , "Ionic tan (anag.)" .)