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.
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
In December, Australia became the first country to block access for under-16-year-olds, forcing social-media companies including Meta, TikTok owner ByteDance and YouTube to deactivate millions of teen social-media accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 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
He suggests that the smoke alarm industry has a responsibility to reduce nuisance alarms, which sometimes cause people to deactivate or uninstall the devices – a huge safety risk.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
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.
