Meanings
plural privatizations · alternative privatisation
- BritishEnglishOxfordUScountableuncountableThe transfer of a company or organization from government to private ownership and control.
Coordinate term: denationalization
1 more example
The party, moreover, facilitates the accumulation of private fortunes and industrial empires by its foremost members and collaborators through ‘privatization’ and other measures, thereby intensifying centralization of economic affairs and government in an increasingly narrow group that may for all practical purposes be termed the national socialist elite.
1943, Sidney Merlin, “Trends in German Economic Control Since 1933”, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, page 207 - BritishEnglishOxfordUScountableuncommonuncountableThe rendering of a thought or an idea, as private in scope.
Questioning the privilege of biology went hand in hand with a challenge to the privatization of the family and the notion that parents own children and may therefore treat them however they choose.
1988 February 14, Laurie Sherman, “All In A Day's Work”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 30, page 7
Synonyms & antonyms
nounchanging something from state to private ownership or control
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinprīvātus“apart from the state; private”
- GermanPrivatisierung
- Englishprivatization
Calque of German Privatisierung (with English -ation), derived from Latin prīvātus (“apart from the state; private”), with reference to post-First World War German economic principles. Popularized by Sidney Merlin in 1943, who was aware of the term reprivatization (used in similar contexts), already attested at the time.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic خَصْخَصَة, خَوْصَصَة
- خَصْخَصَة (ḵaṣḵaṣa)transfer from the government to private ownership
- خَوْصَصَة (ḵawṣaṣa)transfer from the government to private ownership
Basque pribatizazio
- pribatizaziotransfer from the government to private ownership
Bulgarian приватиза́ция
- приватиза́ция (privatizácija)transfer from the government to private ownership
Catalan privatització
- privatitzaciótransfer from the government to private ownership
Chinese Mandarin 私有化, 民營化 /民营化
- 私有化 (sīyǒuhuà)transfer from the government to private ownership
- 民營化 /民营化 (mínyínghuà)transfer from the government to private ownership
Czech privatizace
- privatizacetransfer from the government to private ownership
Dutch privatisering
- privatiseringtransfer from the government to private ownership
Estonian erastamine
- erastaminetransfer from the government to private ownership
Finnish yksityistäminen
- yksityistäminentransfer from the government to private ownership
French privatisation
- privatisationtransfer from the government to private ownership
German Privatisierung
- Privatisierungtransfer from the government to private ownership
Greek ιδιωτικοποίηση
- ιδιωτικοποίηση (idiotikopoíisi)transfer from the government to private ownership
Hebrew הַפְרָטָה
- הַפְרָטָה (hafratá)transfer from the government to private ownership
Hindi निजीकरण
- निजीकरण (nijīkraṇ)transfer from the government to private ownership
Hungarian privatizáció
- privatizációtransfer from the government to private ownership
Icelandic einkavæðing
- einkavæðingtransfer from the government to private ownership
Italian privatizzazione
- privatizzazionetransfer from the government to private ownership
Japanese 私営化, 民営化
- 私営化 (shieika)transfer from the government to private ownership
- 民営化 (min'eika)transfer from the government to private ownership
Korean 민영화
- 민영화 (minyeonghwa)transfer from the government to private ownership
Latvian privatizācija
- privatizācijatransfer from the government to private ownership
Lithuanian privatizacija
- privatizacijatransfer from the government to private ownership
Malay penswastaan
- penswastaantransfer from the government to private ownership
Persian خصوصیسازی
- خصوصیسازی (xosusi-sâzi)transfer from the government to private ownership
Polish prywatyzacja
- prywatyzacjatransfer from the government to private ownership
Portuguese privatização
- privatizaçãotransfer from the government to private ownership
Romanian privatizare
- privatizaretransfer from the government to private ownership
Russian приватиза́ция
- приватиза́ция (privatizácija)transfer from the government to private ownership
Slovak privatizácia
- privatizáciatransfer from the government to private ownership
Spanish privatización
- privatizacióntransfer from the government to private ownership
Swahili ubinafsishaji
- ubinafsishajitransfer from the government to private ownership
Swedish privatisering
- privatiseringtransfer from the government to private ownership
Turkish özelleştirme
- özelleştirmetransfer from the government to private ownership
Ukrainian приватиза́ція
- приватиза́ція (pryvatyzácija)transfer from the government to private ownership
Vietnamese tư nhân hóa
- tư nhân hóatransfer from the government to private ownership
Cite this entry
privatization. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/privatization
“privatization.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/privatization. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “privatization,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/privatization.
Source: privatization on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.