The DICT Development Group
3 definitions found
for inactivate
From 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]
From 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]
From 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
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