downsize (redirected from downsized)

down·size  (dounsz)

v. down·sized, down·siz·ing, down·siz·es

v.tr.

1. To reduce in number or size: a corporation that downsized its personnel in response to a poor economy.

2. To dismiss or lay off from work: workers who were downsized during the recession.

3. To make in a smaller size: cars that were downsized during an era of high gasoline prices.

v.intr.

To become smaller in size by reductions in personnel: Corporations continued to downsize after the economy recovered.

Our Living Language Nothing fails so miserably as a failed euphemismthough there have been plenty of successes. The English language, especially business jargon, is littered with words that now seem ordinary but were once regarded as euphemisms. Consider the terms senior for old person, custodian for janitor, and rest room for toilet (itself a euphemism). These words arise from a natural tendency to ease the pain or embarrassment associated with things such as death or bodily functions, or from a conscious desire to recast something unpleasant in a more dignified light. Downsize is a recent example of a euphemism that found broad acceptance in the language and is not particularly thought of as a deceptive attempt to smooth over the pain of large-scale firings. But the search for less harmful terms goes on and on. The attempt to find even more positive-sounding ways to say "downsize" has led business executives and people working in human resources and public relations (both euphemisms themselves) to float a number of alternatives. Companies were being "reengineered" and even "right-sized"; laid-off workers had to be "separated" or "unassigned" for being "nonessential"; their jobs were said to be "no longer going forward." Most of these terms were met with scorn, being regarded as cynical attempts to sugarcoat an inherently distressing phenomenon, and as failed euphemisms they accomplished the exact opposite of what they were designed to. Why one euphemism should be accepted while another is not remains something of a mystery, but the selection of such terms indicates one way in which social attitudes have a powerful effect on language change.

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downsize [ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz]

vb -sizes, -sizing, -sized (tr)

1. (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) to reduce the operating costs of a company by reducing the number of people it employs

2. (Business / Marketing) to reduce the size of or produce a smaller version of (something)

3. (Electronics & Computer Science / Computer Science) to upgrade (a computer system) by replacing a mainframe or minicomputer with a network of microcomputers Compare rightsize

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	downsize - dismiss from work; "three secretaries were downsized during the financial crisis" furlough, lay off - dismiss, usually for economic reasons; "She was laid off together with hundreds of other workers when the company downsized"
	2.	downsize - make in a smaller size; "the car makers downsized the SUVs when fuel became very expensive" shrink, reduce - reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?"
	3.	downsize - reduce in size or number; "the company downsized its research staff" cut down, reduce, trim back, trim down, cut, cut back, trim, bring down - cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits"

Translations

downsize [ˌdaʊnˈsaɪz]

A. VT → hacer recortes de personal en, hacer recortes de plantilla en(Sp)

B. VI → reducir(el)personal, reducir(la)plantilla(Sp)

downsize [ˈdaʊnsaɪz] vt [+ company, industry] → dégraisser

downsize [ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz] vt (workforce) → ridurre

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downsize [ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz] vt (workforce) → ridurre