deactivate

verb

de·ac·ti·vate | \ (ˌ)dē-ˈak-tə-ˌvāt

deactivated; deactivating; deactivates

Definition of deactivate

transitive verb

: to make inactive or ineffective deactivate a bomb deactivate a chemical compound

Other Words from deactivate Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about deactivate

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Other Words from deactivate

deactivation \ (ˌ)dē-ˌak-tə-ˈvā-shən

\ noun

deactivator \ (ˌ)dē-ˈak-tə-ˌvā-tər

\ noun

Examples of deactivate in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The late addition of hops to cold wort during the dry-hopping process means those key enzymes aren't deactivated by the high heat of the boiling stage. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "How to get that great “hoppy” beer taste without the exploding bottles," 5 Oct. 2018 B54s were officially retired by the U.S. Military in 1989, though Bentley’s SADM platoons were deactivated long before that. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The U.S. Military Once Had Nukes That Could Fit in a Backpack," 14 Jan. 2019 Thursday morning, many Slack users with ties to Iran discovered their accounts had been abruptly deactivated. — Russell Brandom, The Verge, "Slack is banning some users with links to Iran even if they’ve left the country," 20 Dec. 2018 McCabe’s spokesperson Melissa Schwartz said his security clearance was deactivated when he was fired. — Brooke Singman, Fox News, "Trump revokes ex-CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance," 15 Aug. 2018 McCabe’s clearance was deactivated when he was fired from the FBI, said Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for McCabe. — Shane Harris, The Seattle Times, "White House says Trump wants to revoke security clearances for former intelligence officials critical of him over Russia," 23 July 2018 Andrew’s security clearance was deactivated when he was terminated, according to what we were told was FBI policy. — Madeleine Ngo, Vox, "Several ex-intel officers criticized Trump. Now he may revoke their security clearances.," 23 July 2018 The Drag Race season 8 winner’s comments came after season 10 queen and Bob’s sister Monét X Change exchanged tweets directly with Banks before the rapper’s account was deactivated. — Stephen Daw, Billboard, "Bob the Drag Queen Drops Diss Track Against Azealia Banks, Asks Fans to Listen to Big Freedia Instead: Watch," 7 June 2018 Repetitive cycles of uncommanded nose down stabilizer continue to occur unless the stabilizer trim system is deactivated through use of both STAB TRIM CUTOUT switches in accordance with the existing procedures in the Runaway Stabilizer NNC. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "Indonesia 737 crash caused by “safety” feature change pilots weren’t told of," 13 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deactivate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.