as in killing
to cause to stop functioning
deactivate the machine carefully, or you'll risk an electric shock
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Recent Examples of deactivating
Gilbert also spoke out in support of her husband for the first time on Tuesday after deactivating her social media accounts on Sunday.
—
Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
TikTok is deactivating all accounts held by under-16 users.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Dec. 2025
The death toll in Hong Kong's apartment complex fire climbed to 159 on Wednesday, as six people were arrested on suspicion of deactivating some fire alarms during maintenance work at the housing complex, authorities said.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
Eventually, however, the astronaut Dave Bowman succeeds at deactivating HAL, ignoring the computer’s desperate pleas to stop.
—Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Fowler's report was shortly followed by Jennings deactivating his Instagram page, which led some to believe that the rumors about the fifth-year wideout potentially being on the trading block may have some validity.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Sanders was dealing with a back injury, which led to the Browns deactivating him for the game.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2025
In February, the author returned to Instagram after deactivating her account amid the controversy.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
In addition, the lawyers asked the high court to review whether proceeding with his execution without first deactivating his implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD, would defy the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 5 Aug. 2025
Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
TikTok is deactivating all accounts held by under-16 users.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Dec. 2025
The death toll in Hong Kong's apartment complex fire climbed to 159 on Wednesday, as six people were arrested on suspicion of deactivating some fire alarms during maintenance work at the housing complex, authorities said.
—CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
Eventually, however, the astronaut Dave Bowman succeeds at deactivating HAL, ignoring the computer’s desperate pleas to stop.
—Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Fowler's report was shortly followed by Jennings deactivating his Instagram page, which led some to believe that the rumors about the fifth-year wideout potentially being on the trading block may have some validity.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Sanders was dealing with a back injury, which led to the Browns deactivating him for the game.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2025
In February, the author returned to Instagram after deactivating her account amid the controversy.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
In addition, the lawyers asked the high court to review whether proceeding with his execution without first deactivating his implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD, would defy the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deactivating
Verb
-
But not having Rodney Rice’s shooting is killing us.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
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The attackers later ambushed two ambulances transporting the wounded, killing three officers and burning their bodies before fleeing.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But then, with one lap to go and the white flag already out, his Open-car competitor Corey LaJoie spun out, and instead of braking and avoiding the carnage, Mears smashed his foot on the pedal and zoomed ahead of LaJoie before the caution came out.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Stanton demonstrates his battery by shorting the coils, which halts the pendulum due to the magnetic field’s braking effect.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Instead of skittering off, the hot droplets start sticking and seeping into the surface texture, and leave wet patches behind.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2026
-
These additions can help keep food from sticking and make cleanup a lot easier.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deactivating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deactivating. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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