verb ·4 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   to make something inactive or no longer effective ergative

   "deactivate an account"

2. 2
   make inactive wordnet
3. 3
   to prevent the action of a biochemical agent (such as an enzyme)

   "chemically deactivate"

4. 4
   remove from active military status or reassign wordnet
5. 5
   to remove a person or piece of hardware from active military service

Show 1 more definition

6. 6
   to commit suicide Internet, euphemistic, neologism

Synonyms

All synonyms

assassinatebaptizebreak upcanceldashdebrief

Antonyms

All antonyms

activate

Example

More examples

"How can I deactivate my account on this site?"

Etymology

From de- + activate.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.