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 of deactivate

• kill
• brake
• shut off

Examples of deactivate in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

On Sunday, Bitman filed an emergency motion seeking to deactivate Evans’ e‑filing privileges while Carrot Top continues to recover. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026

Ultimately, instead of reporting the user to RCMP or warning the community, OpenAI simply deactivated the account, which did nothing to prevent Van Rootselaar from making a second account. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026

Klein, senior White House reporter at CNN, also said her badge had been deactivated. — Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026

White House reporters from the two cable networks — Betsy Klein of CNN and Akayla Gardner of MS NOW — both went live to report they’d been turned away, their press badges deactivated, when arriving for their jobs at the White House. — Jocelyn Noveck, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deactivate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

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