centralize

[sen-truh-lahyz]

See more synonyms for centralize on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing.

to draw to or gather about a center.
to bring under one control, especially in government: to centralize budgeting in one agency.

verb (used without object), cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing.

to come together at or to form a center.

Also especially British, cen·tral·ise.

Origin of centralize

First recorded in 1790–1800; central¹ + -ize

Related formscen·tral·iz·er, nouno·ver·cen·tral·ize, verb, o·ver·cen·tral·ized, o·ver·cen·tral·iz·ing.re·cen·tral·ize, verb, re·cen·tral·ized, re·cen·tral·iz·ing.un·cen·tral·ized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for centralize

consolidate, integrate, unify, rationalize, streamline, compact, incorporate, organize, systematize, gather, focus, condense, converge, amalgamate, accumulate, assemble, concenter

Examples from the Web for centralize

Contemporary Examples of centralize

Their duty is to centralize all evidence currently available, but let a semi-organic process develop the rest.
How the Syrian War Subreddit Scoops Mainstream Media
Nina Strochlic
November 7, 2013
Once in office, they are always going to centralize power and undermine the democracy that elevated them.
David Brooks's Egyptian Lessons For Israel
Bernard Avishai
July 9, 2013

Historical Examples of centralize

Now, all the signs of the times indicate the necessity to centralize.
The Ontario High School Reader
A.E. Marty
This is an evil which has crept in with the tendency to centralize the schools.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, December 1898
Various
Understand me, Sir, I do not seek to centralize, but to nationalize.
Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 18 (of 20)
Charles Sumner
His object was to purify French, and, as it were, to centralize it.
A History of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance
Joel Elias Spingarn
Chamberlain in vain urged defense and political policies designed to centralize power in London.
The Canadian Dominion
Oscar D. Skelton

British Dictionary definitions for centralize

centralize

centralise

verb

to draw or move (something) to or towards a centre
to bring or come under central control, esp governmental control

Derived Formscentralization or centralisation, nouncentralizer or centraliser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for centralize

1795, "to bring to a center;" 1800, "come to a center," from central + -ize, on model of French centraliser (1790). A word from the French Revolution. Related: Centralized; centralizing.

Government should have a central point throughout its whole periphery. The state of the monthly expences amounted to four hundred millions; but within these seven months, it is reduced to one hundred and eighty millions. Such is the effect of the centralization of government; and the more we centralize it, the more we shall find our expenses decrease. [Saint-Just, "Discourse on the State of the Finances"]