Meaning & use
centralization of power
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Meaning
noununcountableformal
The process of bringing political control or decision-making into a single central authority.
Grammar: Uncountable: the centralization of power, not 'a centralization of power'.
Patterns
- the centralization of power in [place/body]
- the centralization of power by [group]
The constitution was changed to allow the centralization of power in the capital.
Historians debate the centralization of power under the emperor.
The centralization of power often leads to protests from regional governments.
Common combinations
- the centralization of power in the hands of [someone]
- The centralization of power in the hands of a few officials worried the public.
- oppose the centralization of power
- Many local leaders oppose the centralization of power.
- lead to the centralization of power
- The war led to the centralization of power in the national government.
Synonyms and how they differ
- concentration of power
- Concentration of power is similar but can refer to any gathering of power, not necessarily into a central authority.
- centralization
- Centralization alone can refer to any process of bringing things under central control; adding 'of power' makes the political meaning clear.
Opposites
Word family
- centralize verb
- To bring under central control.
- centralized adjective
- Controlled by a single central authority.
Commonly confused: centralization of power or decentralization?
centralization of power vs decentralization
Decentralization is the opposite: moving power away from a central authority to local ones.
Practice
What does 'centralization of power' mean?
Choose one answer.
Centralization of power means concentrating control in a central authority. Spreading power or sharing it equally is the opposite (decentralization).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “centralization of power”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.