verb · formal
centralize
UK/ˈsentrəlaɪz/US/ˈsentrəˌlaɪz/CEN·tral·ize
to bring power, control, or organization under a single authority
Examples
“The company decided to centralize its customer service in one office.”
“Centralizing decision-making can speed up responses but may reduce local flexibility.”
“Some governments centralize tax collection to improve efficiency.”
Band 8 sentence
“While centralizing procurement improved scale economies, it also alienated some regional managers.”
Collocations
- centralize power
- centralize services
- centralize decision-making
Word family
Common mistakes
concentrate the power→centralize power
centralize at the region→centralize in the region / centralize regional services
Say it for a higher band
5put together→6concentrate→7+centralize
Synonyms
consolidate
concentrate
Easily confused
decentralize
“A move to centralize services was criticized by local authorities.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ize
Learn it with its set