deactivate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
deactivates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deactivated,
past participle, past
-
deactivating
present participle
-
to cause to be inactive; remove the effectiveness of.
-
to demobilize or disband (a military unit).
-
to render (a bomb, shell, or the like) inoperative, especially by disconnecting, removing, or otherwise interfering with the action of the fuze.
-
Chemistry. to render (a chemical, enzyme, catalyst, etc.) inactive.
verb (used without object)
-
deactivates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deactivated,
past participle, past
-
deactivating
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to make (a bomb, etc) harmless or inoperative
-
(intr) to become less radioactive
-
(tr) to end the active status of (a military unit)
-
chem to return or cause to return from an activated state to a normal or ground state
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
deactivatesimple
-
deactivatessimple
-
have deactivatedperfect
-
has deactivatedperfect
-
am deactivatingprogressive
-
are deactivatingprogressive
-
is deactivatingprogressive
-
have been deactivatingperfect progressive
-
has been deactivatingperfect progressive
Past
-
deactivatedsimple
-
had deactivatedperfect
-
was deactivatingprogressive
-
were deactivatingprogressive
-
had been deactivatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deactivate
Vocabulary lists containing deactivate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Russian officials highlight “human control,” with a focus on the ability to alter the system, deactivate it or provide limitations, such as on the types of targets that it can engage.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
“The national credit bureaus will activate and deactivate a credit freeze for free upon request. You must contact each bureau separately to freeze your respective credit report.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
In an interview, Fishback said he isn’t antisemitic and that he believes the university’s move to deactivate the chapter violates students’ free-speech rights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
He added that "social media platforms will then have until December 31 to deactivate existing accounts" that do not comply with the age limit.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
And then, when nothing happened—as nothing would—he would apply the neutralizing compound to deactivate it so it didn’t just drip down the impervious metal and eat its way into the ground.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Meta deactivates accounts that it suspects are underage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
A chemical reaction can convert two polluting greenhouse gases into valuable building blocks for cleaner fuels and feedstocks, but the high temperature required for the reaction also deactivates the catalyst.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 26, 2024
Julian Crowley, a DoorDash spokesperson, denied that DoorDash deactivates the accounts of workers who take time off after being injured, calling this claim "incredibly loaded and frankly totally wrong."
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2024
It deactivates accounts that could pose a risk to its hosts.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2023
The activation of a shielding model also deactivates the protection structure of a person or at least some section of it.
From The Brain, A Decoded Enigma by Dorin Teodor Moisa
Klein similarly reported that her credential had been deactivated, while Politico said Haslett’s badge was confiscated.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
When the gene was deactivated in older worker bees, the insects began caring for the queen again.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
If Ndholo Kusumo is found to not meet those standards, it will be permanently deactivated.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
The lawsuit seeks a statewide judgment that Uber has failed to comply with Proposition 22, along with an opportunity for the thousands of deactivated drivers to appeal their terminations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
His hunch was that when those deactivated chicken cells fused with HeLa, something inside HeLa would essentially turn the chicken cell back on.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Tech companies said they would comply with the ban, and some began deactivating accounts before the law came into effect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has already started deactivating accounts based on information such as the age given when they were created.
From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025
Pretty Little Thing faced a backlash when it started deactivating accounts it said had high rates of return last year.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025
And they found that deactivating SOX9 a week after injury promoted kidney recovery.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2024
“In fact, I’m surprised they’ve kept it going so long. The Capitol will adjust by deactivating specific pods and then manually triggering them when their targets come in range.”
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
