deactivate
Americanverb (used with object)
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deactivates,
present (3rd person singular)
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deactivated,
past participle, past
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deactivating
present participle
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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)
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deactivates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
deactivated,
past participle, past
-
deactivating
present participle
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deactivatesimple
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deactivatessimple
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have deactivatedperfect
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has deactivatedperfect
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am deactivatingprogressive
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are deactivatingprogressive
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is deactivatingprogressive
-
have been deactivatingperfect progressive
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has been deactivatingperfect progressive
Past
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deactivatedsimple
-
had deactivatedperfect
-
was deactivatingprogressive
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were deactivatingprogressive
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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
If you lose it, you should report that loss immediately so the government can deactivate the card and issue a replacement.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The report said these two engines were manually switched off, causing the remaining engine to reach its "overspeed trip threshold" and also deactivate.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
They will require that autonomous vehicles feature safe procedures to activate and deactivate automated driving, it said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
To deactivate the bow’s special properties, I need only tell it “Good night.”
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Meta deactivates accounts that it suspects are underage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Similar to the way that HR deactivates an employee's logins when they leave, there needs to be a process for shutting down AI agents that have finished their work, he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025
This drains the copper pools in the cells and deactivates the biomolecules that require copper.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 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
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
CNN reporter Betsy Klein said a Secret Service agent told her her badge had been deactivated.
From BBC ● 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
A gig drivers organization filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging the company violated their rights by not providing a sufficient appeals process for deactivated accounts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
“My dirty-rascal chip gets deactivated during lockdowns. ID card or hall pass, please.”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
She made her Instagram comeback after seemingly deactivating her personal account earlier this month, when allegations against her husband became public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
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 started deactivating accounts based on information such as the age given when they were created.
From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 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
“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.
