deactivate
verb
de·ac·ti·vate
(ˌ)dē-ˈak-tə-ˌvāt 
deactivated; deactivating; deactivates
: to make inactive or ineffective
deactivate a bomb
deactivate a chemical compound
Examples of deactivate in a Sentence
deactivate the machine carefully, or you'll risk an electric shock
Recent Examples on the Web
Their campus IDs would be deactivated, making classrooms, dining halls and other parts of campus inaccessible.
—
Sharon Otterman, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
So the first step is to remove or deactivate those caps by washing a solution over the nascent microarray.
—Phillip W. Barth, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Mar. 2024
Johnson tells police someone else shot Rashaad Germany Jr.
Police later found Johnson had deactivated his Instagram account 12 hours after Germany Jr. was killed.
—Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Open your door and swipe the token across the panel, and the alarm would automatically deactivate.
—PCMAG, 10 Apr. 2024
DeBose appeared to deactivate her X account after the awards show.
—Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 15 Jan. 2024
In 2020, for instance, Amazon deactivated the Echo Look, a camera that helped people organize their wardrobes.
—Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Mexican army minesweepers reportedly deactivated more than 250 antipersonnel mines during that campaign.
—Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Wi-Fi jamming devices don’t necessarily deactivate devices, but work by overloading the network the devices are connected to.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2024
Sharon Otterman, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
So the first step is to remove or deactivate those caps by washing a solution over the nascent microarray.
—Phillip W. Barth, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Mar. 2024
Johnson tells police someone else shot Rashaad Germany Jr.
Police later found Johnson had deactivated his Instagram account 12 hours after Germany Jr. was killed.
—Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Open your door and swipe the token across the panel, and the alarm would automatically deactivate.
—PCMAG, 10 Apr. 2024
DeBose appeared to deactivate her X account after the awards show.
—Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 15 Jan. 2024
In 2020, for instance, Amazon deactivated the Echo Look, a camera that helped people organize their wardrobes.
—Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Mexican army minesweepers reportedly deactivated more than 250 antipersonnel mines during that campaign.
—Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Wi-Fi jamming devices don’t necessarily deactivate devices, but work by overloading the network the devices are connected to.
—Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deactivate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near deactivate
Cite this Entry
“Deactivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deactivate. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
deactivate
transitive verb
de·ac·ti·vate
(ˈ)dē-ˈak-tə-ˌvāt
deactivated; deactivating
1
: to make inactive or ineffective
2
: to deprive of chemical activity
deactivate an enzyme
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share