Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Decentralize \De*cen"tral*ize\, v. t. to make less central; to prevent from centralizing; to cause to withdraw from the center or place of concentration; to divide and distribute (what has been united or concentrated); -- esp. said of authority, or the administration of public affairs.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1840 (implied in decentralized), probably a back-formation from decentralization. Related: Decentralizing.
Wiktionary
alt. 1 To cause something to change from being concentrated at one point to being distributed across a number of points. 2 To reduce the authority of a governing body by distributing that authority among several bodies. vb. 1 To cause something to change from being concentrated at one point to being distributed across a number of points. 2 To reduce the authority of a governing body by distributing that authority among several bodies.
WordNet
v. make less central; "After the revolution, food distribution was decentralized" [syn: deconcentrate, decentralise] [ant: centralize, centralize, centralize]
Usage examples of "decentralize".
This world of decentralized, small- scale nodes, with instant global access for the best and brightest, would be a perfect milieu for the shoestring attic capitalism that made Mitch Kapor what he is today.
A decentralized network model, the concept behind much of the information revolution, shares data horizontally too.
At some point-or another, urban planners had tried any number of strategies to decentralize the business district, to stagger work hours, to facilitate telecommuting none to any lasting effect.
The city had its own decentralized computer systems, which reported directly to him and took his instructions by way of his internal radio and video systems.
Life is much more decentralized in 2230 than with us, in the sense that there are no large and concentrated clumps of humanity.
Giordano Bruno who must be regarded as the principal representative of the doctrine of the decentralized, infinite, and infinitely populous universe.
The Draka had a tradition of decentralized command, which meant trusting an officer to accomplish the assigned tasks in his own fashion.
In 1983, the entire surplus sales auction system was decentralized, forcing him to evaluate which of the several DRMOs around the country might offer the best situation.
The drug trade decentralized into several groups, which was just as profitable and safer.
Now, this division of power, which decentralizes the government without creating mutually hostile forces, can hardly be introduced into any European state.
Instead of the decentralized anarchy of a village meeting, the chief was a permanent centralized authority, made all significant decisions, and had a monopoly on critical information (such as what a neighboring chief was privately threatening, or what harvest the gods had supposedly promised).
She'd approved of the Reform Act, which had eliminated the presidential office, decentralizing its authority across Congress.
Basic planetary telecommunication had evolved into a decentralized swarm system of old silicon-based computers demanding no organization or hierarchy, demanding nothing beyond a common communications protocol.
His posture had a limp, decentralized sloppiness, as if in defiance of his tall, slender body, a body with an elegance of line intended for the confident poise of an aristocrat, but transformed into the gawkiness of a lout.
Viewed in this manner tribal warfare may be seen as an example of intraspecific aggression, with its attendant consequences in decentralizing and refining diverse populations.