nationalization

IPA/ˌnæʃnəlaɪˈzeɪʃn/
KK[nˌæʃnələzˈeʃən]IPA/ˌnæʃnələˈzeɪʃn/

nationalization — noun

1. when a government takes private companies, factories, or whole industries away f

1.nounC1
Definition

when a government takes private companies, factories, or whole industries away from their owners so that the state runs them instead.

Example

After the war, the new government announced the nationalization of all coal mines.

collocation: nationalization of [industry]

Many shareholders lost money during the nationalization of the steel industry in 1967.

Common collocations
  • nationalization of [industry/sector/company]
  • full nationalization
  • partial nationalization
  • announce / order / oppose nationalization
  • wave of nationalizations
Synonyms
  • state takeover

    plainer, more journalistic phrasing for the same process

  • expropriation

    stronger; emphasises taking property by force, sometimes without fair payment

  • public ownership

    describes the end state rather than the act

Antonyms
  • privatization

    the reverse process: government hands a state-owned industry back to private owners

  • denationalization

    specifically reversing a previous nationalization

Grammar Patterns

nationalization of [industry/company]

Usage Note

Uncountable noun; almost always followed by 'of + [industry/company/sector]'. Often appears in contrast with 'privatization' (the reverse process). Common in news writing about post-war Britain, Latin America, and oil-producing states.

Common Mistakes

The government did a nationalization of the bank.
The government carried out the nationalization of the bank.
'do a nationalization' is unnatural; use 'carry out / announce / order the nationalization of'.
There were many nationalizations last year.
There were many cases of nationalization last year.
the noun is usually uncountable; avoid the plural unless contrasting separate events.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four terms describe overlapping but distinct ideas about who controls a business or industry. 'Nationalization' is the neutral process word: a government takes a company or whole industry into state hands. 'Privatization' is its exact opposite — selling a state-owned enterprise back to private investors. 'Expropriation' is stronger and often negative: a government seizes property, sometimes without paying full market value, and is the word journalists choose when describing forced takeovers in unstable political situations. 'Public ownership' is more abstract — it names the end result rather than the act, so a country can be 'in public ownership' long after the original nationalization is forgotten. Use 'nationalization' for the event itself, 'public ownership' for the lasting condition.

nationalization ↗privatization ↗expropriation ↗public ownership

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • wave of nationalization
  • policy of nationalization
  • threat of nationalization

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in 19th-century English from the verb 'nationalize' (= make national) plus the noun suffix '-ation'. The verb itself came from French 'nationaliser' during the political debates of the 1790s, when revolutionary governments first started transferring church and noble property to the state. The modern economic sense — taking industries into government hands — became widespread after the Second World War, especially in British and Latin American politics.