Definition of "deactivate" [de•ac•ti•vate]

• To render inactive or ineffective. (verb-transitive)
• To inhibit, block, or disrupt the action of (an enzyme or other biological agent). (verb-transitive)
• To remove from active military status. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "What's interesting is that they don't delete your information or pictures when you "deactivate" your account."
• "The only Islam we can be comfortable with is one that places the stress on personal spiritual development, that explicitly accepts our democracy and our laws, and which places Islamic ideology in a historical context, so as to "deactivate" it. elixelx"
• "Facebook used the term "deactivate" in its privacy policy, and "deactivation," it turned out, was not the same as deletion."