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
The text messages often said that the employees' accounts were about to be deactivated and asked them to click on a link.
—
Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
After being reached for comment, Penland deactivated his LinkedIn account and alerted ICE to the inquiry but did not respond to AP.
—Ryan J. Foley, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Some just withdrew – 27% deactivated or deleted their social media accounts.
—Anisah Bagasra, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2026
There does not seem to be any political momentum to remove, deactivate or severely limit the devices, unlike in neighboring cities like Mountain View, Santa Cruz, and jurisdictions under the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, following revelations of unauthorized federal access.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
After being reached for comment, Penland deactivated his LinkedIn account and alerted ICE to the inquiry but did not respond to AP.
—Ryan J. Foley, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026
Some just withdrew – 27% deactivated or deleted their social media accounts.
—Anisah Bagasra, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2026
There does not seem to be any political momentum to remove, deactivate or severely limit the devices, unlike in neighboring cities like Mountain View, Santa Cruz, and jurisdictions under the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, following revelations of unauthorized federal access.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deactivate
Verb
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Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Denver police on Thursday arrested a 28-year-old man who investigators said shot and killed another man in a fight near South Broadway and West Maple Avenue, department officials said in a news release.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Today's industrial stocks include a company that makes braking systems for trains out of Wilmerding, Pennsylvania as well as a trucking manufacturer in Bellevue, Washington.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
20 Apr. 2026
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Reigniting its engines for two braking burns, the booster settled onto the ship for a smoky but on-target touchdown less than 10 minutes after liftoff.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Cairenes are used to sitting at cafes until the small hours, but energy price spikes from the Iran war pushed authorities to impose a curfew, and dim or shut off streetlights, one of several such efforts to preserve fuel worldwide.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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As the fire continued to burn, crews called both Los Angeles Department of Water and Power personnel and the property's gas company to shut off utilities at the home.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deactivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deactivate. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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