as in unusable
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as in killed
to cause to stop functioning
deactivate the machine carefully, or you'll risk an electric shock
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deactivated
Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
New Atlas, 18 Jan. 2026
Almost five million social media accounts belonging to Australian teenagers have been deactivated or removed, according to the government.
—Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 16 Jan. 2026
The alert was subsequently deactivated.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
Gilbert has since deactivated her Instagram account.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
Melissa Gilbert has deactivated her social media accounts after New Mexico authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of her husband, West Wing actor Timothy Busfield.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Jan. 2026
Much of its website has been deactivated since the closures became public.
—Julianna Duennes Russ, Austin American Statesman, 1 Jan. 2026
Typically, Waymo’s software treats deactivated traffic signals as four-way stops, but the traffic volume overwhelmed the system.
—Stuart Dyos, Nashville Tennessean, 30 Dec. 2025
Tatum Bethune returned at middle linebacker, Curtis Robinson was deactivated, and Eric Kendricks made a cameo in his debut as Bethune dealt with more ankle issues.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
Adjective
While the total number of accounts across platforms is unknown, Inman Grant said the number of deactivated or restricted accounts was encouraging.
—Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Verb
But the trade-off is, of course, performance – and the fan can be manually deactivated if needed.
—New Atlas, 18 Jan. 2026
Almost five million social media accounts belonging to Australian teenagers have been deactivated or removed, according to the government.
—Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 16 Jan. 2026
The alert was subsequently deactivated.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
Gilbert has since deactivated her Instagram account.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
Melissa Gilbert has deactivated her social media accounts after New Mexico authorities issued a warrant for the arrest of her husband, West Wing actor Timothy Busfield.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Jan. 2026
Much of its website has been deactivated since the closures became public.
—Julianna Duennes Russ, Austin American Statesman, 1 Jan. 2026
Typically, Waymo’s software treats deactivated traffic signals as four-way stops, but the traffic volume overwhelmed the system.
—Stuart Dyos, Nashville Tennessean, 30 Dec. 2025
Tatum Bethune returned at middle linebacker, Curtis Robinson was deactivated, and Eric Kendricks made a cameo in his debut as Bethune dealt with more ankle issues.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deactivated
Adjective
-
Many jars have been sacrificed to the back of the fridge over the years, lost in the depths until they were discovered, moldy and unusable.—
Jenny Hughes,
The Spruce,
17 Jan. 2026
-
The report was published to help raise awareness of building demolition and point to what factors might make a building deemed outdated or unusable.—
Jennifer Castenson,
Forbes.com,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Two days shy of the one-year anniversary of a tragedy that killed 67 people near the nation’s capital, the National Transportation Safety Board will meet to determine the probable cause of the midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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The fire killed two people, destroyed 1,084 homes and businesses and did more than $2 billion in property damage.—
Judith Kohler,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Brown’s statement on Monday was mostly useless corporate-speak.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
-
This tiny amount of copper acts as a molecular steering wheel, preventing sugar molecules from shattering into useless carbon dioxide.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Each treatment lasts three minutes and automatically shuts off when it's done.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
20 Jan. 2026
-
In a subsequent report on the incident, the NTSB faulted PG&E for failing to quickly locate the valves needed to shut off the gas release.—
Ethan Varian,
Mercury News,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Without this step, emotional conversations become emotionally expensive and structurally ineffective.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Since mothballs are proven to be ineffective (and harmful), here are some safer alternatives to consider.—
Rae Ford,
Martha Stewart,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Auntie Devi stuck her head out the window to catch the wind.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Vulnerability, fragility, insanity, real innocence … but also confusion, depression, extreme hurt, anger … stuck in our heads.—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Dominguez also took the witness stand at the trial that ended in June with deadlocked Yolo County jurors leading McAdam to declare a mistrial.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Central to his approach, Calvo said, is establishing clear leadership at City Hall following eight months under an interim mayor and a deadlocked council.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Being willing to drop his signature tax raising plan shows that Mamdani is focused on what’s ahead, not on sticking with unworkable campaign promises from the past.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents about 150,000 small-business truckers, has called recent heavy-duty emissions and EV rules unworkable environmental mandates.—
Newsweek Editors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deactivated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deactivated. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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