deactivate

verb

de·​ac·​ti·​vate (ˌ)dē-ˈak-tə-ˌvāt 

deactivated; deactivating; deactivates

transitive verb

: to make inactive or ineffective

deactivate a bomb

deactivate a chemical compound

deactivation

(ˌ)dē-ˌak-tə-ˈvā-shən 

noun

deactivator

(ˌ)dē-ˈak-tə-ˌvā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• kill
• shut off
• turn off

Examples of deactivate in a Sentence

deactivate the machine carefully, or you'll risk an electric shock

Recent Examples on the Web

At the time of publication, Moran seems to be lying low as his Instagram account appeared to be deactivated. —Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 11 June 2025

Soon after, Offset deactivated both his X account and his Instagram account. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 5 June 2025

Since Brian’s PayPal account was eventually deactivated due to inactivity, RouteNote had no way of paying the thousands of dollars Blue Smiley started accruing as streams accumulated. —Tyler Hicks, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025

Brightbill successfully infiltrates the vessel on which Roz is being held hostage, only to find that she has already been deactivated. —Emily Blackwood, People.com, 30 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deactivate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

deactivate

verb

de·​ac·​ti·​vate (ˈ)dē-ˈak-tə-ˌvāt 

: to make inactive or ineffective

deactivation

(ˌ)dē-ˌak-tə-ˈvā-shən 

noun

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

deactivation

-ˌak-tə-ˈvā-shən 

noun