[syn: inactivate, deactivate]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
inactivate \inactivate\ v. t. [imp. & p. p. inactivated; p.
pr. & vb. n. inactivating.]
to make inactive; as, boiling will inactivate most enzymes;
acetylation of the antibiotic inactivated it.
Syn: deactivate.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
Note: To inactivate an enzyme or chemical usually renders it
permanently inactive; to inactivate a machine (as by
turning a switch) may be reversible, and for machines
and devices, the term deactivate is usually used. The
distinction is worth preserving.
[PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
inactivate
v 1: release from military service or remove from the active
list of military service [syn: demobilize, inactivate,
demobilise] [ant: call up, mobilise, mobilize,
rally]
2: make inactive; "they deactivated the file" [syn:
inactivate, deactivate] [ant: activate]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
23 Moby Thesaurus words for "inactivate":
bugger, cripple, de-energize, debilitate, disable, disenable,
drain, enfeeble, hamstring, hors de combat, incapacitate, kibosh,
lame, maim, put, queer, queer the works, sabotage, spike, unfit,
weaken, wing, wreck