centralized

American  

[sen-truh-lahyzd] / ˈsɛn trəˌlaɪzd /

especially British, centralised

adjective

1. controlled from one place.

   The individual police departments will transition to the centralized dispatch system beginning in October.

   After years of opting for top-down regulatory approaches, the new administration has decided to move toward a less centralized form of government oversight.

2. existing in one place, or being the center point of a network: The system allows users to record subscriber complaints in a single database, creating a centralized source of information to assist us in pinpointing systematic delivery problems.

   Each computer has a twisted-pair cable that runs to a centralized hub.

   The system allows users to record subscriber complaints in a single database, creating a centralized source of information to assist us in pinpointing systematic delivery problems.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of centralize.

Other Word Forms

• uncentralized adjective

Etymology

Origin of centralized

centralize ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Anything that's centralized is under the control of one unified authority or located in a single place, like a centralized government. If a business is centralized, it operates from a central location, rather than spreading things out between stores, offices, or factories. Managers of satellite offices have less power if they work for a centralized company, where decisions are made in a home office. A centralized government works the same way, with power concentrated in the executive branch. Centralized derives from a Latin word meaning "center" and the Greek root kentron, "sharp point."

Example Sentences

In Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers were still mapping networks of insurgents and roadside bombs by hand until FDEs arrived to stitch together PowerPoints and memos into a centralized intelligence platform.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

The move is aimed at streamlining the pre-dispute process and prevent disputes by surfacing transaction details, improve confidence in dispute resolution outcomes, and unify dispute workflows into a centralized platform.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Live offers a more centralized, campus-style setting, with venues and event spaces clustered together.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The question is whether the consumer AI transformation requires a half-trillion dollars in centralized infrastructure—or 2.5 billion devices that are already built and paid for.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026

For both of those reasons, all developments of economically complex, socially stratified, politically centralized societies beyond the level of small nascent chiefdoms were based on food production.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• constitutional
• domestic
• in-house
• intramural
• national
• private
• subjective