privatization
English · Thesaurus
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privatization
- /ˌpɹaɪvɪtaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ UK
- /ˌpɹaɪvətaɪˈzeɪʃən/ US
Where it comes from
Calque of German Privatisierung (with English -ation), derived from Latin prīvātus (“apart from the state; private”), with reference to post-First World War German economic principles. Popularized by Sidney Merlin in 1943, who was aware of the term reprivatization (used in similar contexts), already attested at the time.
noun privatizations · privatisation
- The transfer of a company or organization from government to private ownership and control. Coordinate term: denationalization
- The rendering of a thought or an idea, as private in scope. Questioning the privilege of biology went hand in hand with a challenge to the privatization of the family and the notion that parents own children and may therefore treat them however they choose.
Opposite: nationalization
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: corporatization, deregulation, privatizing, incorporation, divestiture, sell-off, allocation, allotment, speciality, privatisation, private, psi, earmarking, denationalisation, divestment, asset sale
noun
Opposite: nationalization
Translations
Every language
noun transfer from the government to private ownership
| Español | privatización |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 민영화 minyeonghwa |
| 日本語 | 私営化 shieika, 民営化 min'eika |
| 中文 | 私有化 sīyǒuhuà, 民營化 /民营化 mínyínghuà |
| हिन्दी | निजीकरण nijīkraṇ |
| Kiswahili | ubinafsishaji |
| Português | privatização |
| Français | privatisation |
| Deutsch | Privatisierung |
| Italiano | privatizzazione |
| Ελληνικά | ιδιωτικοποίηση idiotikopoíisi |
| Română | privatizare |
| Русский | приватиза́ция privatizácija |
| Tiếng Việt | tư nhân hóa |
| العربية | خَصْخَصَة ḵaṣḵaṣa, خَوْصَصَة ḵawṣaṣa |
| עברית | הַפְרָטָה hafratá |
Talk about this word "privatization." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/privatization. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. privatization. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/privatization "privatization." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/privatization.Cite this
@misc{privatization_2026,
title = {privatization},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/privatization},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
