verb · academic
decentralize
/ˈdiːsɛntrəlaɪz/DE·cen·tra·lize
to transfer authority or responsibility away from a central body to local bodies
Examples
“Many countries decentralize healthcare to improve local services.”
“The company plans to decentralize decision-making to regional offices.”
“Decentralizing education administration can give schools more flexibility.”
Band 8 sentence
“To make services more responsive, the government decided to decentralize several key responsibilities to regional councils.”
Collocations
- decentralize power / decentralize decision-making / decentralize services
Word family
Common mistakes
give power to local→decentralize power to local authorities
distribute the power→decentralize the power
Say it for a higher band
5delegate→6distribute→7+decentralize
Synonyms
delegate
distribute
Easily confused
delegate
“The manager delegated tasks to the team.”
distribute
“They distribute food to the refugees.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -ize
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