VocabauraVOCABAURA

privatization

noun

Simple meaning

The transfer of a company or organization from government to private ownership and control.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

pryvuhtuhzayshuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɹaɪvətəˈzeɪʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The transfer of a company or organization from government to private ownership and control.

  2. Changing something from state to private ownership or control

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The transfer of a company or organization from government to private ownership and control.

Used this way, privatization is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in business or professional and government or politics contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Business/professional
  • Government/politics

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use privatization

  • “The government is considering the privatization of some public services.”noun

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “privatization”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

privatization processprivatization programmass privatizationprivatization programmescale privatizationvoucher privatizationpartial privatizationprivatization policy

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • privateernounPerson or profession

    An officer or crew member of a privateer.

  • privatelyadverbDerived adverb

    Kept private or confined to those intimately concerned.

  • privatizeverbDerived verb

    Change from governmental to private control or ownership.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “privatization” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.