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
West followed the spectacle by publishing numerous inappropriate and racist posts to his X account, which was subsequently deactivated.
—
Thania Garcia, Variety, 11 Feb. 2025
As of Monday morning, after an unfortunately characteristic several days of posting wildly offensive stuff, the rapper’s account was listed as deactivated.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025
Its kidneys will come from pigs with 69 gene edits, including 59 edits meant to deactivate porcine viruses.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
The whole thing has since gone viral and turned Gascón, who quickly deactivated her X account, into Hollywood’s version of Gary Condit, John Edwards or George Santos — in other words, completely toxic.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for deactivate 
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Thania Garcia, Variety, 11 Feb. 2025
As of Monday morning, after an unfortunately characteristic several days of posting wildly offensive stuff, the rapper’s account was listed as deactivated.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2025
Its kidneys will come from pigs with 69 gene edits, including 59 edits meant to deactivate porcine viruses.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
The whole thing has since gone viral and turned Gascón, who quickly deactivated her X account, into Hollywood’s version of Gary Condit, John Edwards or George Santos — in other words, completely toxic.
—Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for deactivate
Dictionary Entries Near deactivate
Cite this Entry
“Deactivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deactivate. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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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
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