deselect

Deselect is a verb meaning to remove an item from a selection, or to stop highlighting or marking it as chosen. It is the inverse of select. In user interfaces, deselection clears the current selection so that no items remain active or highlighted. The exact behavior varies by application and context.

In graphical user interfaces and list controls, users typically deselect by performing one of several actions: clicking on an unselected item to start a new selection; Ctrl-click (Cmd-click on macOS) toggles the selection state of individual items; Shift-click selects a continuous range, and clicking an empty area or pressing a key such as Escape clears all selections. Some controls require a dedicated “deselect” or “clear selection” command.

In word processing and text editors, deselection occurs when the user clicks outside a selected region, moves the cursor, or presses Escape; in drag-and-select operations, releasing the mouse ends the selection. In design and graphics software, deselecting can be used to stop editing a particular object without losing the object's state.

Usage notes: deselecting is common in user documentation, but some editors and platforms also use unselect as a synonym. Preference may vary by language community; both forms are recognized, though deselect is more standard in technical contexts. See also: select, selection, highlight, focus.