decenter

[ dee-sen-ter ]

verb (used with object)

1. to put out of the center or make eccentric:

   The goal is to decenter the treatment zone of the eye to align with the line of sight instead of the geometric center of the cornea.

2. to remove from a position of priority or dominance so as to give attention and influence to other viewpoints, concerns, etc.:

   The new version of the test will force high schools to teach history from a perspective that decenters whiteness.

   The author’s call to decenter the self, to make empathetic leaps toward the other, is unsentimental yet moving.

3. Astronomy. to cause (an orbit) to follow a path in which the body being orbited is not at the center:

   A decentered orbit is temporary—all orbits around a single body become elliptical and centered in due time.

verb (used without object)

1. to shift one’s attention from one’s usual focus or preoccupation:

   As therapists we must decenter from our own perspective and experience the client through their own way of being in the world.

Word History and Origins

Origin of decenter¹

First recorded in 1885–90; de- ( def ) + center ( def )

Example Sentences

My husband and I have been arguing nonstop about emotional labor and my ongoing attempts to decenter him in our marriage.

From Los Angeles Times

There's something about the legacy of sub-humanity that we constantly have to resurrect, but then, at the same time, we have to decenter the white gaze.

From Salon

It landed just three years after Edward Said’s critique of the western gaze, “Orientalism,” which helped lead a dramatic shift within the academy and broader literary circles to decenter European and American voices.

From Los Angeles Times

Alcohol-free wine, beer and cocktails are an improvement, but a better change would be to consider ways to decenter alcohol or faux alcohol from our social activities altogether.

From Seattle Times

“One way for us to decolonize data and decolonize polling is to decenter white people and their opinions about it,” she said.

From Seattle Times