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What is the antonym of "to toggle"?

A search shows both to untoggle and to detoggle in use, but I could find neither in dictionaries.
(I could find untoggle as "to unfasten by removing a toggle from its loop" in Merriam-Webster, but that seems to be a different meaning for the word.)

Another alternative could be to oppose "to toggle on" with "to toggle off".

So, how should I write these sentences?

  • You cannot * untoggle this choice.
  • This option cannot be * untoggled while Foo is selected.
  • Selecting Fizz will * untoggle all Buzz options.
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    It is unclear what you think "to toggle" means. Do you think it means "to turn on"? What does a dictionary say "to toggle" means? Last I knew it meant to change between two options. These may be "on" and "off", or they may be "red" and "blue"; in which case there is no opposite.
    – AndyT
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 14:35
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    Can you explain why you think there should or even could be an antonym to toggle, please?
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 20:16
  • @AndyT It seems you were right on the money, I had a wrong concept for "to toggle".
    – ANeves
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 23:16
  • @RobbieGoodwin asking why a word "could" exist is strange. All words could exist, any word could exist. I don't understand what you mean, unless you mean generally the same as AndyT.
    – ANeves
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 23:16
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    Thanks and no, it isn't possible that there could be an antonym to "toggle" any more than an that old forum favorite, an "opposite" to "black and white. … unless you meant generally that just because a word exists, doesn't mean it has a meaning.
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Commented Apr 28, 2018 at 14:38

3 Answers 3

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Quoting an earlier answer:

Toggle as a verb is based on the concept of operating a toggle switch

This definition means the thing with a value, say a light switch or a radio-button, has one of two possible value: e.g. on/off; 1/0; yes/no; on/off; or more poetically yin/yang; order/chaos; etc.

Toggling is switching it from one value to the other. Switching it back isn’t called (*) untoggling. Toggling it again switches it back. Repeated toggling switches back and forth between the values.

I don’t think there is an antonym beyond simply not toggling.

If you have a boolean choice, and toggling is switching to the other one, how can there be an antonym?

You switch or you don’t. You can’t choose a blank or no value. In a boolean world items are on or off; there is nothing else.

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    It might sound a bit zen, but the question as phrased implicitly requests a word for that ‘nothing else’.
    – Lawrence
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 23:49
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If a synonym of "to toggle" is to "to switch to state A if in state B, or to switch to state B if in state A", then the opposite of that is not to switch, or not to toggle.

However, based on the 3 sentences you wrote, to me it sounds like you're writing a program/designing a UI with binary switches, or checkboxes. Assuming this is the case, then selected/deselected (turn on/turn off, activate/deactivate) should work:

  • You cannot deselect this choice.
  • This option cannot be deselected while Foo is selected.
  • Selecting Fizz will deselect all Buzz options.
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Toggle as a verb is based on the concept of operating a toggle switch

This is a switch that can have one of two positions, "off" and "on". As a verb, you could pick a term appropriate to the context:

"de-select" an option"
or
"toggle-off" an alarm"

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    No, a toggle switch is called that because of it's action -- it "flips" distinctively between positions. It may be selecting between any two settings.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 20:37
  • If you desire to use toggle, I agree with your statement: Another alternative could be to oppose "to toggle on" with "to toggle off". It meets the KISS principal and avoids ungainly grammar.
    – lbf
    Commented Apr 28, 2018 at 0:22

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