reprivatize

R1E1P3R1I1V4A1T1I1Z10E1

verb

To make something private again.

OriginEnglish privatize ← Middle English privat(e) ← Latin prīvātus →
Scrabble 25
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Meanings

verbreprivatize (third-person singular simple present reprivatizes, present participle reprivatizing, simple past and past participle reprivatized)

present singular third person reprivatizes · participle present reprivatizing · participle past reprivatized · past reprivatized · alternative reprivatise

  1. transitiveTo make something private again.

    At a time when our communities are being increasingly attacked, when sexuality is being forcefully "reprivatized" (or at least hidden from view) […]

    1988 December 4, Scott Bravmann, “Lesbian/Gay Visibility (Or T-Shirt Terrorism)”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 21, page 5
    1. transitiveeconomicsTo privatize a company that was previously nationalized

      Many analysts cite Swedish bank nationalization, from the early 1990s, as a model, because the Swedes later reprivatized these banks and resumed economic growth.

      2009 March 1, Tyler Cowen, “Message to Regulators: Bank Fix Needed Quickly”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Proto-Italic*wre-
  2. Latinre-
  3. Old Frenchre-
  4. Middle Englishre-
  5. Englishre-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  7. Proto-Italic*prei
  8. Proto-Italic*preiwos
  9. Latinprīvus
  10. Latinprīvō
  11. Latinprīvātus
  12. Middle Englishprivat(e)
  13. Englishprivate
  14. Englishprivatize
  15. Englishreprivatize

From re- + privatize.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

reprivatize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reprivatize

MLA

“reprivatize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reprivatize. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reprivatize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reprivatize.

Source: reprivatize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.