as in to kill
to cause to stop functioning
deactivate the machine carefully, or you'll risk an electric shock
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Recent Examples of deactivate
Prosecutors said federal agents examined cell phone data as part of the investigation and noticed five of the suspects deactivated their devices following the heist.
—
Josh Campbell, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
The state in court documents said a third-party provider would be willing to deactivate the device on Aug. 4 at Nashville General Hospital, as technicians would not come to the prison to perform the procedure.
—Kelly Puente, Nashville Tennessean, 30 July 2025
If users are determined to be under 18, personalized ads will be deactivated, well-being tools will be activated, and repetitive viewing will be limited for some kinds of content, the company said.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 30 July 2025
By early that Sunday, the cards had been deactivated and the scam had been halted, the youth department said.
—Ed Shanahan, New York Times, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Josh Campbell, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
The state in court documents said a third-party provider would be willing to deactivate the device on Aug. 4 at Nashville General Hospital, as technicians would not come to the prison to perform the procedure.
—Kelly Puente, Nashville Tennessean, 30 July 2025
If users are determined to be under 18, personalized ads will be deactivated, well-being tools will be activated, and repetitive viewing will be limited for some kinds of content, the company said.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 30 July 2025
By early that Sunday, the cards had been deactivated and the scam had been halted, the youth department said.
—Ed Shanahan, New York Times, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deactivate
Verb
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The storm killed more than 400 people and caused more than $100 million in damage, or $2.3 billion in today’s dollars.—
Susannah Bryan,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Aug. 2025
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Weather systems Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter were classified as tropical storms earlier this year, as Barry caused flooding in southeastern Mexico and Central Texas, where flooding killed more than 130 people.—
Ty Roush,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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That's when the teen reached through the window to unlock a car door from the outside, causing the man to suddenly brake.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
8 Aug. 2025
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Piastri even locked up momentarily under braking at Turn 1 in the penultimate lap, but failed to overtake Norris.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Once installed, no adversary can shut off the supply of sun or wind.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
6 Aug. 2025
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Culinary star Paula Deen has abruptly shut off the burners at her popular Georgia restaurants.—
Karu F. Daniels,
New York Daily News,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deactivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deactivate. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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