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
Per multiple outlets, including InStyle and Cosmopolitan, her husband Justin Bieber's Instagram account got deactivated (then reactivated) after going live on the app, and in the wake of that, Hailey appeared to unfollow the singer from her own profile.
—
Michelle Lee, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Hoover spoke out in support of Blake at the end of last year, but then deactivated her Instagram in January and returned with photos of the cast of the film scrubbed from her account.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
Plaza has deactivated her Instagram page following Baena's death.
—Janelle Ash, Fox News, 20 Mar. 2025
Mayo deactivated his Instagram account last month after the Jayhawks lost to Houston in double-overtime.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Michelle Lee, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Hoover spoke out in support of Blake at the end of last year, but then deactivated her Instagram in January and returned with photos of the cast of the film scrubbed from her account.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025
Plaza has deactivated her Instagram page following Baena's death.
—Janelle Ash, Fox News, 20 Mar. 2025
Mayo deactivated his Instagram account last month after the Jayhawks lost to Houston in double-overtime.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deactivate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deactivate
Verb
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Rick kills one of the security men, as Chelsea is shot in the chest.—
Colleen Kratofil,
People.com,
7 Apr. 2025
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Then in the third period, once again killing a penalty with the Canadiens clinging to a 2-1 lead, and just after Sam Montembeault made a series of saves on Sean Couturier to maintain that lead, Suzuki added to it with the winning goal.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Super Cruise will essentially drive the car for you on highways – that includes acceleration, braking, and steering as well as passing slower cars and changing lanes.—
Brooke Crothers,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
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Because of Sampson's size, the harness didn't lock properly and he was ejected from his seat when the ride braked, authorities said.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The survey was conducted at the end of March, after the contentious Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelensky, which resulted in a temporary shut off of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing, critical assistance in Kyiv’s defense against Russia.—
Laura Kelly,
The Hill,
8 Apr. 2025
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Many projects that had received small amounts of funding to start construction planning suddenly had that funding shut off.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deactivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deactivate. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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