Administrativize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

  1. To organize or arrange according to administrative principles; to confer administrative characteristics or functions upon something; to bring under bureaucratic control or management
  2. To structure or regulate by applying formal administrative processes; to imbue with qualities related to administrative governance; to convert into an operational scope governed by administration
  3. To implement systematic administrative procedures; to endow with the attributes of official administration; to subject to management and organizational rules within an administrative framework

Etymology: "Administrativize" is a straightforward formation from "administrative," which itself comes from "administrate," a verb borrowed in the 15th century from Latin "administrare," meaning "to manage, attend to, or serve." The "-ize" ending, from Greek "-izein" through Latin "-izare," turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make into" or "to cause to become." English has used this pattern since the Middle Ages and applies it freely to modern coinages. The verb is much younger than its parts. The earliest evidence of "administrativize" in English dates from the twentieth century, when writers on government and organizational theory began using it to describe the process of placing activities under formal bureaucratic rules. Its use remains mostly confined to academic and policy writing, where it often carries a slightly critical tone, suggesting that something has been drawn into bureaucratic control.

Synonyms: bureaucratize, organize, manage, regulate, systematize

Antonyms: deregulate, decentralize, disorganize