denationalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to remove (an industry or the like) from government ownership or control.
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to deprive of national status, attachments, or characteristics.
verb
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to return or transfer (an industry, etc) from public to private ownership
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to deprive (an individual, people, institution, etc) of national character or nationality
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of denationalize
First recorded in 1800–10; de- + nationalize
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.
Even al-Qaeda commander Anwar al-Awlaki was still a U.S. citizen when he was killed by a U.S. drone in 2011, despite attempts by members of Congress to denationalize him.
From Slate • Feb. 20, 2019
The second innovation is to denationalize the armed force projecting the corporation’s power.
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2017
Thatcher promised to denationalize such major government-owned companies as British Airways, Rolls-Royce and British Telecom.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Prime Minister got a rousing cheer when he told the rebels of the government's plans "to denationalize road haulage at the earliest possible moment."
From Time Magazine Archive
I for one," he said, "am deeply convinced of the impolicy of all such attempts to denationalize the French.
From British Supremacy & Canadian Self-Government, 1839-1854 by Morison, J. L. (John Lyle)
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.
