How to Use inactivate in a Sentence

inactivate

verb
  • The process by which the viruses in the vaccine were supposed to be inactivated — killed — hadn’t worked.
    Helen Branswell, STAT, 23 Apr. 2018
  • To find out, the researchers used a flu virus that had been inactivated by heat treatment.
    John Timmer, Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2019
  • These particles can dry out over time and inactivate the virus.
    Sonia Ramirez, Houston Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2020
  • Even cleaning surfaces with soap and water can inactivate the virus, the agency said.
    NBC News, 10 Dec. 2020
  • Apply a heat pack or rinse the affected area with hot water to inactivate the venom.
    BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2021
  • The acids in lemon juice will inactivate the polyphenol oxidase enzyme and prevent the browning process.
    Maryal Miller Carter, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2023
  • This step inactivates or slows enzymes that cause loss of flavor and color in your peaches.
    Wini Moranville, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 May 2023
  • Moreover, the person did not heat the potatoes after removing them from the can, a step that can inactivate the botulinum toxin, the researchers said.
    Laura Geggel Senior Writer, Fox News, 26 May 2017
  • Common cleaners like chlorine and bromine should inactivate the virus in water, according to the CDC.
    Evan MacDonald, cleveland, 16 May 2020
  • Although some of the iron ended up being linked to carbon, this didn't inactivate the catalyst.
    John Timmer, Ars Technica, 18 Oct. 2020
  • Proper sanitation practices, such as the use of chlorine and bromine often used in pool water, should inactivate the virus in the water, the CDC said.
    Ashton Nichols, Dallas News, 28 May 2020
  • Rinsing off in the shower for just 1 minute removes most of the dirt or anything else on your body that uses up chlorine or bromine needed to kill or inactivate germs.
    Rachel Trent, CNN, 3 July 2021
  • The cutting of a virus's DNA is enough to inactivate it, providing protection to the bacteria.
    John Timmer, Ars Technica, 7 Oct. 2020
  • In the late 1960s, a vaccine was produced in which the virus was inactivated with formalin, a chemical that kills viruses.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 22 June 2023
  • The gene that codes for fur pigment is on the X, and the orange and black patches on these cats reflect areas where one X chromosome was inactivated versus the other.
    Jonathan Wosen Reprints, STAT, 1 Feb. 2024
  • Some of these fungicides can inactivate pathogens that have infected plants but have not yet expressed symptoms.
    Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2023
  • The reprogrammed stems cells must be inactivated with a blast of radiation before they can be used in the vaccine.
    Melissa Healy, latimes.com, 15 Feb. 2018
  • Unlike scientists in a lab, the human body in attack mode isn’t trying to inactivate viruses just so.
    NBC News, 30 Jan. 2022
  • Scientists can inactivate a single gene in the pig to stop production of a protein the virus needs to survive, according to the companies.
    Marc Heller, Science | AAAS, 19 Apr. 2018
  • IgG molecules are systemic, and trigger the body to bind and inactivate viruses circulating in the blood.
    Alice Park, Time, 31 Oct. 2022
  • China has three vaccines in efficacy trials that use the whole virus and inactivate it.
    Jon Cohen, Science | AAAS, 3 Sep. 2020
  • But the study did not account for other factors that could help to inactivate the virus, such as sunlight or disinfectants, or look at varying levels of virus, Lloyd-Smith said.
    Lauren M. Johnson, CNN, 7 Sep. 2020
  • Other genes that have been eliminated or inactivated mean that viruses that are natural to the pig will be unable to jump to the human.
    Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Chadwick has spent his entire career trying to understand how the body inactivates one copy of the X chromosome.
    Quanta Magazine, 27 Oct. 2016
  • That seems to be true for CTV as well, which has mutations that inactivate genes that slow down growth and other mutations that activate genes that promote growth.
    John Timmer, Ars Technica, 3 Aug. 2019
  • B cells make antibodies that can bind to and inactivate viruses.
    Jonathan Golob, Quartz, 21 Aug. 2021
  • On the other hand, open air is an important factor limiting infection risk outdoors, and UV light from full sun can inactivate the virus in just a few minutes.
    Joe Lindsey, Outside Online, 30 Sep. 2020
  • The vaccines currently available for both strains are killed, or inactivated, vaccines that contain a dead virus.
    Stav Ziv, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2017
  • Then the group identified just a portion of the gene that could be inactivated and still turn on fetal hemoglobin—a safer approach, since genes often have many functions.
    Emily Mullin, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2023
  • In prior studies, far-UVC killed airborne flu virus, and in a study in Nature it was shown to inactivate other airborne coronaviruses.
    Carolyn Barber, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inactivate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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