dematerialization
dee-muh-teer-ee-uh-luh-ZAY-shuhn
/diː.məˌtɪr.i.ə.ləˈzeɪ.ʃən/
The reduction of the total quantity of materials required to serve economic and societal functions.
Refers to shifting from physical products to digital services or lightweight engineering solutions without diminishing economic value.
The story behind the word. Coined in the late 20th century by environmental systems analysts (notably Robert Ayres) to describe the structural decoupling of economic value creation from physical matter throughput.
Word relationships
- digitization: Digitization specifically converts information into digital formats; dematerialization encompasses broader physical reduction strategies.
- lightweighting: Lightweighting focuses specifically on physical mass reduction in manufacturing.
- materialization: Increasing physical resource inputs or physical output density.
Commonly confused with
- decarbonization: Decarbonization specifically targets carbon output reduction, while dematerialization targets all physical material consumption.
Word family
- dematerialize (verb): To reduce the physical material content of a product or service.
Collocations
- dematerialization of the economy
- absolute dematerialization
- relative dematerialization
Example sentences
- "The shift from physical physical compact discs to digital streaming services represents a textbook case of dematerialization." Macroeconomic Theory
- "Through dematerialization, automotive engineers reduced chassis weight while increasing structural integrity." Sustainable Engineering
Memory hook
DE-MATERIAL: Removing the MATERIAL stuff while keeping the utility. More value from less physical matter.
When not to use
Do not use in spiritual contexts where 'dematerialize' implies physical magic or disappearing ghosts.
Fun facts
- A single modern smartphone dematerializes over 30 separate 1990s hardware devices, including cameras, calculators, GPS devices, and physical landline phones.
Explore more words
decarbonization, materiality, decarbonize, minimalism, economize, digitize
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