denationalize

American  

[dee-nash-uh-nl-ahyz] / diˈnæʃ ə nlˌaɪz /

especially British, denationalise

verb (used with object)

denationalized, denationalizing

1. to remove (an industry or the like) from government ownership or control.

2. to deprive of national status, attachments, or characteristics.

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denationalize British  

/ diːˈnæʃənəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to return or transfer (an industry, etc) from public to private ownership

2. to deprive (an individual, people, institution, etc) of national character or nationality

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Other Word Forms

• denationalization noun

Etymology

Origin of denationalize

First recorded in 1800–10; de- + nationalize

Example Sentences

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

The government acknowledges that it went too far in nationalizing industries in the early 1980s; it pledges to denationalize the automaker Renault and the National Bank of Paris within the next three years.

From Time Magazine Archive

Thatcher promised to denationalize such major government-owned companies as British Airways, Rolls-Royce and British Telecom.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the same time, I should denationalize Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolstoi and Dostoievski, making them Spaniards.

From Youth and Egolatry by Fassett, Jacob S. (Jacob Sloat)