To systematically remove or reduce the functional capacity of something; to make something non-functional.
From 'de-' plus 'functional' plus '-ize,' the suffix meaning to cause or make. The -ize suffix comes from Greek and is used to create verbs, especially in scientific and technical contexts.
The -ize suffix is so productive in English that we often don't realize how recent many -ize words are—'defunctionalize' is technical jargon, but the same pattern gave us 'hospitalize,' 'summarize,' and thousands of others.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.