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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
deactivate
verb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ In 1976, the old lighthouse was deactivated.
▪ The San Francisco Giants deactivated wide receiver Chuck Robinson.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Almost all people are at greater risk if they deactivate an air bag.
▪ However there is a solution to your question about how to deactivate the rogue 1-2-3.
▪ If it was a blue barrier then, hopefully, by jumping on to a blue button the barrier would deactivate.
▪ The intention was simple, to destroy or deactivate any cancer cells in my body.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
deactivate

deactivate \de*ac"ti*vate\, v. t.

  1. To make inactive; to render ineffective; as, to deactivate a bomb; to deactivate a machine; to deactivate the alarm.

    Note: The deactivation of a machine or device is usually a reversible process; switching off an electrical device may be referred to as deactivation. To render an enzyme or catalyst ineffective is more commonly referred to as to inactivate.

  2. To disband (a military unit, or other group); to discontinue (a group activity); as, to deactivate the regiment; to deactivate the investigation.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
deactivate

1904, from de- + activate. Related: Deactivated; deactivating; deactivation.

Wiktionary
deactivate

vb. 1 (context ergative English) to make something inactive or no longer effective 2 to prevent the action of a biochemical agent (such as an enzyme) 3 to remove a person or piece of hardware from active military service

WordNet
deactivate
  1. v. remove from active military status or reassign; "The men were deactivated after five years of service"

  2. make inactive; "they deactivated the file" [syn: inactivate] [ant: activate]

Usage examples of "deactivate".

Never one to substitute technology for his own judgment, he knew instinctively that the refugee screen would be on him in less than a minute - just as he knew that Planetary Defense would need to deactivate two sectors of mines - not one - if Fleet Group Two was going to withdraw in order.

Ryol had control of the bridge, they could easily deactivate the fields using the security overrides.

That left only the controls at the security station if he wanted to deactivate the shields, but could he get to it in time, before the were-thing pounced upon him?

He had returned to temporarily deactivate the computer just as he had erased the central surveillance tapes.

In the midst of his anger, he nearly gave Ego the command to deactivate her chip.

The first instructed the central computer to deactivate the lighting throughout the centre.

Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and, still not responding to Jaina or Lomi, stepped away.

Yuuzhan Vong rearguard was pouring around the devastation on all sides, trading fusillades with Fleet Group One as they streamed past into the deactivated mine shell.

He reached over and deactivated the sensor screen above the now-vacant biobed.

The beams flashed for less than two seconds before Tuvok deactivated the phasers.

The readout from the selected gate showed that it was inactivethat, in fact, it had been deactivated as leading to occupied territory.

Some were simply turned off, some deactivated, but most were replaced with special gates that used a far different and totally military cipher.

It was possible that their opponent had deactivated the microbots for his own cubicle, which would allow him free movement through water and rock.

It was not a safety feature, merely a convenience, and because it was mechanical it could not be deactivated by a malicious programmer.

A gesture toward the nav console deactivated the belly-mounted Sunfire flame projector.