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
Uber also penalizes its drivers who cancel trips and can deactivate their accounts if cancellation frequency reaches a predetermined threshold, the complaint states.
—
Stuart Dyos, Nashville Tennessean, 22 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.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
The account that had impersonated him, after blowing up on @joma_gc, deactivated and removed all of its information from the page.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025
The reposts were taken down, and Harvey's Instagram account has since been deactivated.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Stuart Dyos, Nashville Tennessean, 22 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.
—Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
The account that had impersonated him, after blowing up on @joma_gc, deactivated and removed all of its information from the page.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025
The reposts were taken down, and Harvey's Instagram account has since been deactivated.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deactivate
Verb
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The Taliban government's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghan forces have captured 25 Pakistani army posts, 58 soldiers have been killed, and 30 others wounded.—
NPR,
NPR,
12 Oct. 2025
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In Israel's ensuing offensive, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His muscles will be worn to the fiber, asked to consistently chase and brake and crowd some of the league’s best perimeter players.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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According to reports, police alleged Lacy crossed a center line in an attempt to pass slower vehicles, which caused a pickup truck driver to brake and swerve to avoid Lacy’s car.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One suit, filed on behalf of more than 3,300 people affected by the Palisades Fire, alleges that the city and state didn’t adequately clear public lands of brush, were slow to shut off power the day the Palisades Fire broke out, and allowed the reservoir to go dry.—
Nancy Walecki,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
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The keyboard also comes with a pairable mouse that automatically shuts off the user’s webcam when it’s placed on an accompanying dock.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deactivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deactivate. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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