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Glite Dictionary
to deconcentrate

to deconcentrate

8.3
To move power and services from a central office to local offices
  • verb
  • /ˌdiːˈkɒn.sən.treɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : descentralizar
  • The government plans to deconcentrate administrative functions by moving some offices to different cities.

Examples

  • So in the 1990s, Democratic urban planners decided it was time to "spatially deconcentrate"—meaning knock down the high-rises and move people back into dispersed private housing.

    Blog text (26)

  • Those cities were often surrounded by undeveloped open land or available farmland, and Howard saw planned development of the lands as the ideal solution for deconcentrating urban populations without losing the critical community components of cities.

    Academic text (2004)

  • The urban population in the county is overwhelmingly centered on the growth pole of Tampa but is rapidly deconcentrating in the sprawling process typical of suburbanization throughout the Sunbelt.

    Academic text (1990)

  • To improve efficiency, the company decided to deconcentrate its decision-making process by empowering local managers.

  • As part of the urban reform strategy, officials aim to deconcentrate resources and services to better serve rural communities.

Synonyms

to decentralize
vsto deconcentrate
21 6.5

Give control from a central authority to local branches

reduces central concentration by redistributing functions rather than fully handing over authority

Antonyms

to concentrate
130 3.6

To bring people or things together in one place

How Centralized

to centralize
  • US
10 5.6
to delegate
45 3.7
to deconcentrate
  • Formal
8.3
to devolve
  • Formal
6 6.6

Surface Forms

deconcentrate infinitive
deconcentrated past
deconcentrated past participle
deconcentrating present participle
deconcentrates third person singular

Morphology

deconcentrate = concentrate (semi-transparent) = de + concentrate

The prefix 'de-' clearly signals reversal or reduction from 'concentrate', but the administrative sense of redistributing powers away from the center is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

Deconcentrate is made from the parts de- meaning 'remove' and concentrate meaning 'to bring to the center' or 'to focus'. So to deconcentrate is to take away that central focus and spread out power or services away from a main office.