What’s the difference between deactivation vs. closing the account

The link you've provided to manually close an outlook account only gives users the option to deactivate it. Please explain the difference between deactivation vs. closing the account. If deactivated, how long before it's actually permanently deleted? 

This seems to be a widespread problem for a lot of people. Why is Microsoft ignoring customer concerns and denying us the choice to delete our accounts? It's becoming more and more frustrating.