Showing results for "centralized"

• past participle of centralize.
• past tense form of centralize.

centralized

American  

[sen-truh-lahyzd] / ˈsɛn trəˌlaɪzd /

especially British, centralised

adjective

1. controlled from one place.

   The individual police departments will transition to the centralized dispatch system beginning in October.

   After years of opting for top-down regulatory approaches, the new administration has decided to move toward a less centralized form of government oversight.

2. existing in one place, or being the center point of a network: The system allows users to record subscriber complaints in a single database, creating a centralized source of information to assist us in pinpointing systematic delivery problems.

   Each computer has a twisted-pair cable that runs to a centralized hub.

   The system allows users to record subscriber complaints in a single database, creating a centralized source of information to assist us in pinpointing systematic delivery problems.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of centralize.

Other Word Forms

• uncentralized
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of centralized

centralize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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Explanation

Anything that's centralized is under the control of one unified authority or located in a single place, like a centralized government. If a business is centralized, it operates from a central location, rather than spreading things out between stores, offices, or factories. Managers of satellite offices have less power if they work for a centralized company, where decisions are made in a home office. A centralized government works the same way, with power concentrated in the executive branch. Centralized derives from a Latin word meaning "center" and the Greek root kentron, "sharp point."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

centralized

She had a lot more free rein to experiment with different sales models, without a need for a centralized directive or a one-size-fits all solution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Ukrainian military units procure a lot of their own drones rather than go through a centralized procurement process, which has contributed to the industry fragmentation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Nor will media literacy programs, stronger education about viruses, centralized hubs for medical information, “prebunking” campaigns, or community engagement programs—all good ideas from experts that still cannot meet the sheer force of our paranoia.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

If a relatively simple machine can produce behavior that looks intentional without possessing a decision-making system, could human behavior also appear to result from centralized decisions even if no such central process exists?

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

These differences stemmed ultimately from Eurasia’s much longer history of densely populated, economically specialized, politically centralized, interacting and competing societies dependent on food production.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

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