deactivate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause to be inactive; remove the effectiveness of.
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to demobilize or disband (a military unit).
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to render (a bomb, shell, or the like) inoperative, especially by disconnecting, removing, or otherwise interfering with the action of the fuze.
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Chemistry. to render (a chemical, enzyme, catalyst, etc.) inactive.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to make (a bomb, etc) harmless or inoperative
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(intr) to become less radioactive
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(tr) to end the active status of (a military unit)
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chem to return or cause to return from an activated state to a normal or ground state
Other Word Forms
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.
"A traditional minesweeper which is conducting slow, painstaking work is going to find it tricky to hunt for mines and deactivate them if they are also under air and surface attack," he said.
From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026
Nearly 50 cities nationwide have opted to deactivate their scanners or cancel contracts with Flock, mostly in recent months, according to the website DeFlock.me, which has set out to map locations of the company’s cameras.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 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
Earlier work from his group showed that when resveratrol and copper are combined, they generate oxygen radicals that deactivate or destroy cfChPs.
From Science Daily • Dec. 10, 2025
If Daito failed to deactivate the Beta Capsule and return to human form before his three minutes were up, his avatar would die.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
