decentralize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
decentralizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decentralized,
past participle, past
-
decentralizing
present participle
-
to distribute the administrative powers or functions of (a central authority) over a less concentrated area.
to decentralize the national government.
-
to disperse (something) from an area of concentration.
to decentralize the nation's industry.
verb (used without object)
-
decentralizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decentralized,
past participle, past
-
decentralizing
present participle
verb
-
to reorganize (a government, industry, etc) into smaller more autonomous units
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to disperse (a concentration, as of industry or population)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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decentralizesimple
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decentralizessimple
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have decentralizedperfect
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has decentralizedperfect
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am decentralizingprogressive
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are decentralizingprogressive
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is decentralizingprogressive
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have been decentralizingperfect progressive
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has been decentralizingperfect progressive
Past
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decentralizedsimple
-
had decentralizedperfect
-
was decentralizingprogressive
-
were decentralizingprogressive
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had been decentralizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decentralize
First recorded in 1850–55; de- + centralize
Explanation
To decentralize is to move control from one big organization to several smaller ones. A bookstore chain might decentralize by shifting from one main buyer purchasing books for all the stores to individual store buyers making those purchases. In government, the term decentralize is used when authority moves away from federal control to the state — or from the state to a local level. Your state, for example, might decentralize laws about stores using plastic bags by allowing each city or town to make its own rules. In business, a company decentralizes when it gives more control to individual locations (like the freedom to hire workers and make rules), rather than making these decisions for them.
Vocabulary lists containing decentralize
Western Europe - Introductory
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Western Europe - Middle School and High School
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: de-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ command and control over its components is uncertain, due in part to Iran’s longstanding defensive strategy to decentralize authority, which it executed at the war’s outset.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
The USDA’s program began doling out grants to states and tribal governments in 2022, in an attempt to decentralize and diversify food supply chains after the strain of the pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2025
I believe that was the reason: an attempt to decentralize the media and kind of break it down.
From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2025
But Valderrama Blanco says Gálvez Ruiz will decentralize science policy and give more authority over science funding to Mexico’s state governments, an approach discouraged by the current law.
From Science Magazine ● May 2, 2024
They wished, in particular, to decentralize the administration and restore to the landed proprietors the administration and levying of taxes, which they wished to reduce to a tax on land only.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 8 "France" to "Francis Joseph I." by Various
The draft is expected to be the first sporting event to be held at The Sphere and a showcase opportunity for the league before the draft decentralizes starting in 2025.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 5, 2023
As space exploration expands, decentralizes, and privatizes, U.S. regulators and officials urgently need more effective methods of keeping it safe and efficient.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2023
Web2 centralizes a bunch of cool stuff that was happening with Web1, but you are saying Web3 decentralizes it again.
From The Verge ● Apr. 12, 2022
The approach essentially decentralizes the health system, gathering and responding to data in real-time instead of waiting for a national level analysis.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2021
Now, this division of power, which decentralizes the government without creating mutually hostile forces, can hardly be introduced into any European state.
From The American Republic : constitution, tendencies and destiny by Orestes Augustus Brownson
EA took shape as a decentralized movement during the heady, techno-optimistic days of the late 2000s and early 2010s -- when many believed social media and smartphones would promote empathy and democracy.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Echoing the findings of an earlier evaluation also ordered by Carter, Nardello & Co. found “a reporting environment that relies on numerous databases, self-reported information, manual data transfers, and decentralized reporting practices.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The story is that in this period Scandinavia became distinct unified Christian kingdoms from a series of disparate and decentralized pagan tribes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
The bets gained attention earlier this year when conflicts in the Middle East prompted a wave of trading in oil-linked perpetual futures on the decentralized crypto exchange Hyperliquid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
As with Pythagoras, in Darwin’s model, every organism carried information to build organs and structures in miniaturized form—except in Darwin’s case, the information was decentralized.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
“The broader point I want to make, and you can track this back to the commentary and what I’ve written over the years, is I’m a strong believer in decentralizing power,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The president reiterated his commitment to decentralizing the economy and granting greater autonomy to state-owned enterprises, which account for roughly 80 percent of economic activity.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
In “Humanocracy,” Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini describe how decentralizing individual responsibility helps businesses thrive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
COVID-19 transformed the sheltering and rescue world in many ways, primarily by decentralizing it.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
Economy - overview: The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986.
From The 2002 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
