verb

deactivate

dee-AK-tih-vayt

verb

To turn something off or make it no longer work.

"You can deactivate your account at any time from the settings page."

"The security guard deactivated the alarm before opening the store."

To take a piece of equipment or a person out of active military service.

"The old fleet of tanks was deactivated after the war ended."

How to Use Deactivate

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo switch something off or take it out of use — an account, an alarm, or a piece of military hardware.

Common mistake

Deactivate usually implies something can be reactivated later; deleting is often permanent, deactivating usually isn't.

Common pairings

deactivate an account deactivate an alarm deactivated unit

deactivated past tense, deactivates singular

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Can you complete this real example?

You can _____ your account at any time from the settings page.

Built from de- ("reverse of") plus activate.

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