deinstitutionalization

noun

de·​in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al·​i·​za·​tion (ˌ)dē-ˌin(t)-stə-ˌtü-shə-nə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

-ˌtyü-

1

: the release of institutionalized individuals from institutional care (as in a psychiatric hospital) to care in the community

2

: the reform or modification of an institution to remove or disguise its institutional character

deinstitutionalize

(ˌ)dē-ˌin(t)-stə-ˈtü-shə-nə-ˌlīz 

-ˈtyü-

transitive verb

Examples of deinstitutionalization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That reckoning helped galvanize the deinstitutionalization movement, a decades-long push to create services that support people with disabilities in their homes and communities. — Barbara Merrill, Time, 11 Aug. 2026

Since the 1950s, the United States has seen a dramatic decline in the number of psychiatric beds nationwide due in part to deinstitutionalization and the rise of antipsychotics. — Helen Santoro, Denver Post, 29 June 2026

Psychiatric rehabilitation emerged during the 1970s and 1980s in part as a response to the deinstitutionalization movement, where more and more people with psychiatric disabilities lived in the community. — Adrienne Lapidos, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026

Over the decades, the facility drastically shrank, reflecting a larger deinstitutionalization sweeping the state and country amid concerns over abuse at state psychiatric hospitals. — Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for deinstitutionalization

• deindustrialization
• immunoprecipitation
• individualisation
• individualization
• institutionalisation
• institutionalization
• internationalization
• neovascularization
• operationalization
• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration

Medical Definition

deinstitutionalization

noun

de·​in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al·​iza·​tion (ˌ)dē-ˌin(t)-stə-ˌt(y)üsh-nə-lə-ˈzā-shən, -ˌt(y)ü-shən-ᵊl-ə-ˈzā- 

: the release of institutionalized individuals from institutional care (as in a psychiatric hospital) to care in the community

deinstitutionalize

-ˈt(y)üsh-nə-ˌlīz, -ˈt(y)ü-shən-ᵊl-ˌīz 

transitive verb

deinstitutionalized; deinstitutionalizing