centralization

[sen-truh-luh-zey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or fact of centralizing; fact of being centralized.

2. the concentration of administrative power in a central government, authority, etc.

3. Chiefly Sociology.

   1. a process whereby social groups and institutions become increasingly dependent on a central group or institution.

   2. concentration of control or power in a few individuals.

Other Word Forms

• anticentralization adjective
• overcentralization noun
• procentralization adjective
• recentralization noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of centralization¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; centralize + -ation

Related Words

• unification