De-nationalize refers to the process of transferring ownership or control of a publicly owned organization or industry back to the private sector. There are several synonyms for de-nationalize, such as privatize, denationalize, deregulate, and divest. Privatize means moving an industry from public ownership to private ownership, while denationalize is the transfer of control of a government-owned industry to the private sector. Deregulate refers to the removal of regulations and restrictions that govern an industry, while divest means withdrawing ownership or investment from an industry entirely. All of these synonyms are used to describe the process of reducing the government's control over an industry.