balkanized; balkanizing
Definition of balkanize
1
: to break up (a region, a group, etc.) into smaller and often hostile units
opposes the partition of Germany, and holds that the economic consequences of Balkanizing the country would be serious — Times Literary Supplement
2
: divide, compartmentalize
now pop culture has been balkanized; it is full of niches, with different groups watching and playing their own things— Richard Corliss
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for balkanize
The first known use of balkanize was in 1918
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