Standard Lemma guide

centralization

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌsɛntɹəˌlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
  • Southern-England: Berkshire Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌsɛntɹələˈzeɪʃən/
  • Canada: /ˌsɛntɹəˌlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
  • Australian: /ˌsentɹəˌlɑeˈzæɪʃən/
  • New-Zealand: /ˌsentɹəlaɪˈzæɪʃən/
  • New-Zealand: [ˌsentɹəlɑe̯ˈzæɪʃən]
  • CMU ARPABET: S EH2 N T R AH0 L IH0 Z EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act or process of centralizing, or the state of being centralized; the act or process of combining or reducing several parts into a whole

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: British, English, Oxford, US, countable, uncountable

Examples

  • the centralization of power in the general government
  • the centralization of commerce in a city

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

gathering to a center

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: centralisation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: gather, gathering

3

noun

Meaning 3

the act of consolidating power under a central control

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: centralisation

Antonyms: decentralization

Broader terms: consolidation, integration

History

Etymology

From French centralisation, equivalent to central + -ization or centralize + -ation.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: sentralisasie — the act or process of centralizing
  • Arabic: مَرْكَزِيَّة (markaziyya) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Basque: zentralizazio — the act or process of centralizing
  • Belarusian: цэнтралізацыя (centralizácyja) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Bulgarian: централиза́ция (centralizácija) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Catalan: centralització — the act or process of centralizing
  • Chinese Mandarin: 集中 (jízhōng) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Czech: centralizace — the act or process of centralizing
  • Danish: centralisering — the act or process of centralizing
  • Dutch: centralisatie — the act or process of centralizing
  • French: centralisation — the act or process of centralizing
  • Galician: centralización — the act or process of centralizing
  • Georgian: ცენტრალიზაცია (cenṭralizacia) — the act or process of centralizing
  • German: Zentralisierung — the act or process of centralizing
  • Greek: συγκέντρωση (sygkéntrosi) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Hindi: केंद्रीकरण (kendrīkaraṇ) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Hungarian: központosítás — the act or process of centralizing
  • Indonesian: sentralisasi — the act or process of centralizing
  • Indonesian: penyentralan — the act or process of centralizing
  • Indonesian: pemusatan — the act or process of centralizing
  • Italian: accentramento — the act or process of centralizing
  • Italian: centralizzazione — the act or process of centralizing
  • Norwegian: sentralisering — the act or process of centralizing
  • Polish: centralizacja — the act or process of centralizing
  • Portuguese: centralização — the act or process of centralizing
  • Punjabi: ਕੇਂਦਰੀਕਰਨ (kendrīkaran) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Romanian: centralizare — the act or process of centralizing
  • Romanian: centralizație — the act or process of centralizing
  • Russian: централиза́ция (centralizácija) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Slovak: centralizácia — the act or process of centralizing
  • Spanish: centralización — the act or process of centralizing
  • Swedish: centralisering — the act or process of centralizing
  • Ukrainian: централіза́ція (centralizácija) — the act or process of centralizing
  • Welsh: canoliad — the act or process of centralizing