inactivates

Inactivates is the third-person singular present tense of the verb inactivate. Inactivate means to render something inactive or unable to function. The prefix in- signals negation or reversal, and activate means to cause to function; together they describe removing activity or disabling a process. The form is commonly used in technical and scientific writing to attribute the action to a subject, as in "The disinfectant inactivates the virus."

In biology and medicine, inactivation refers to processes that stop biological activity. Disinfectants and sterilants that inactivate pathogens do so by damaging nucleic acids, proteins, or envelopes. Heat, radiation, oxidizers, and certain chemicals can inactivate viruses or enzymes. In vaccine development, pathogens are often inactivated to produce inactivated vaccines, which provoke an immune response without causing disease.

In computing and information management, inactivate describes disabling a user account, device, or feature. For example, a system might inactivate unused accounts after a period of inactivity to reduce security risk. In law and policy, an agency may inactivate a license or permit under specific conditions.

Related terms include inactivation (the process of becoming inactive), inactive (not currently active), and deactivate (to cause a shorter-term or reversible cessation). The choice between inactivate and deactivate can reflect whether the cessation is intended as permanent or temporary.