decentralise
UK/diːˈsɛntɹəlaɪz//diˈsɛntɹəˌlaɪz/
decentralise verb: to cause something to change from being concentrated at one point to being distributed across a number of points.
Verb
decentralise (third-person singular simple present decentralises, present participle decentralising, simple past and past participle decentralised)
- To cause something to change from being concentrated at one point to being distributed across a number of points.
- To reduce the authority of a governing body by distributing that authority among several bodies.
Forms of decentralise
| third-person singular present | decentralises |
|---|---|
| present participle | decentralising |
| past participle | decentralised |
| past | decentralised |
| alternative form | decentralize |
Origin of decentralise
From de- + centralise.
Words formed from decentralise
Questions about decentralise
- What does decentralise mean?
- Decentralise means to cause something to change from being concentrated at one point to being distributed across a number of points.
- What part of speech is decentralise?
- Decentralise is a verb.
- How do you pronounce decentralise?
- Decentralise is pronounced /diːˈsɛntɹəlaɪz/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of decentralise?
- The past tense of decentralise is decentralised.
Words near decentralise in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: decentralise (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-decentralize.ogg.
Cite this entry: “decentralise.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/decentralise. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.