Balkanizes

Part of speech: verb, third-person singular

Definitions

1. To divide a region or entity into smaller, often hostile or non-cooperative parts; to fragment political or social unity into isolated segments; to cause a unified area to become broken into multiple independent sections
2. To break up a territory or organization into several smaller units that may conflict or lack coordination; to create divisions that weaken a collective whole; to convert an integrated body into distinct, separate factions
3. To split a larger group or territory into smaller, mutually disconnected parts that may experience discord; to cause separation of a once cohesive system into discrete components; to dismantle unity by inducing fragmentation into independent segments

Etymology: "Balkanizes" is the third-person singular form of "balkanize," a verb built on "Balkan," the name of the peninsula in southeastern Europe. The verb is a derivative of that proper noun, with the suffix "-ize" added to turn a place into an action: to make something look like, or behave like, the Balkans. In the sense of breaking a unified territory into small, quarrelsome pieces, the verb draws on the region's long history of fragmentation into rival states and principalities. The Balkan Peninsula has been carved up many times, so its name became shorthand for political division. That reputation is what gives the verb its force: to balkanize a country or organization is to splinter it into feuding units that no longer cooperate. The form in this request follows the regular pattern of a verb ending in "-ize," with the "-es" ending added for the third-person singular, as in "he balkanizes" or "it balkanizes."

Synonyms: fragment, divide

Antonyms: unify, integrate