# privatisation

Pronunciation: UK say "pry-vi-ty-ZAY-shuhn" /ˌpɹaɪvɪtaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/; US say "pry-vuh-ty-ZAY-shuhn" /ˌpɹaɪvətaɪˈzeɪʃən/

## Noun

1. The handing over of a company or organisation from state ownership to private owners, who then own and run it.
   - Simple: Moving a company or organisation from the government to private owners, who then control it.
   - _Water privatisation in England and Wales is still fiercely debated._
   - _The government pushed through a string of privatisations, selling off gas, electricity and telephone companies._

## Noun

2. The process by which something, such as religious belief, family life or a feeling, becomes a private, personal matter rather than a public or shared one. *(rare)*
   - Simple: When something, like religion or a feeling, becomes a private, personal matter instead of something shared in public.
   - _Critics warned against the privatisation of religious belief, arguing that faith has always had a public side._
   - _The privatisation of political opinion, voiced at the kitchen table but never in public, weakens a democracy._

## Origin

Formed from privatise + -ation.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/privatisation (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).