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
With his jaw clenched and sights set on being the next James Bond, Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Major Will Tranter, a bomb disposal pro who’s both an ace sniper and a bit of a loose cannon, breaking protocol in his obsessive attempt to deactivate the vintage ordnance with minimal casualties.
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Peter Debruge, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
His personal page has been deactivated before as well.
—John Tufts, IndyStar, 6 Sep. 2025
Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights are not illuminated, reducing the risk of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
On 57 occasions, the lane keeping or adaptive cruise control deactivated, and there were 43 instances of a test car failing to adequately slow down, of which 70 percent required the driver to hit the brakes.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Peter Debruge, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
His personal page has been deactivated before as well.
—John Tufts, IndyStar, 6 Sep. 2025
Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights are not illuminated, reducing the risk of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
On 57 occasions, the lane keeping or adaptive cruise control deactivated, and there were 43 instances of a test car failing to adequately slow down, of which 70 percent required the driver to hit the brakes.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deactivate
Verb
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Utah police on Friday arrested Tyler Robinson for allegedly killing right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, although his potential motive remains hazy.—
Claire Cameron,
semafor.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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Key Background Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was killed in an unprovoked attack on a commuter rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This is what caused the crash, given that Bearman was already so far alongside, braking earlier, and clearly unable to do anything else.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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There's also an e-Step button on the dash, which turns on maximum regen braking and may add some friction braking to the mix.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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If the plaque weakens and breaks apart, large clumps are released into the blood stream, and a large clump can block an artery, completely shutting off blood flow and causing a heart attack.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
11 Sep. 2025
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Auto start-stop is a vehicle feature that shuts off the engine when a vehicle is stopped to conserve fuel.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deactivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deactivate. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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