anonymization
gb/ənənimˌaɪzˈeɪʃən/ us/ənənimˌaɪzˈeɪʃən/
C1
English
Senses
0 senses
Noun
technical
C1
process
1
making identities unrecognizable
Anonymization means changing data or a report so that people cannot tell who or what it is about.
Usage pattern:
anonymization of [data/documents/records]; [data] anonymization
Common mistake:
Do not confuse anonymization with anonymity: anonymization is the process, while anonymity is the state of being unnamed or unknown. In British English, anonymisation is also common.
Synonyms
de-identification (Common in data and privacy contexts; emphasizes removing identifying details.)
|
masking (Often means hiding sensitive details, sometimes in a reversible or partial way.)
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redaction (Usually refers to removing or blacking out sensitive text in documents.)
Antonyms
identification (The act of linking information to a particular person, organization, or source.)
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deanonymization (The process of discovering or revealing the identity behind anonymous data or activity.)
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re-identification (The process of linking anonymized data back to a specific person or entity.)
Collocations
data anonymization
|anonymization process
|anonymization technique
|anonymization method
|anonymization software
|anonymization tool
|proper anonymization
|strong anonymization
|ensure anonymization
|apply anonymization
Themes
privacy
|technology
|data
|law
|research
Examples
- The company uses anonymization to protect customer data before sharing it with researchers.
- Proper anonymization removes or changes details that could identify individual patients.
- Experts warned that weak anonymization could allow users to be re-identified.
Learner examples
- Anonymization keeps people's names out of the report.
- The app uses anonymization to protect my data.
Grammar
Dictionary form
anonymization
IPA
GB/ənənimˌaɪzˈeɪʃən/
US/ənənimˌaɪzˈeɪʃən/
Syllables & stress
an - onym - iz - a - tion (5 syllables)
Stress on 5th syllable (tion)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: anonymization
- Plural: anonymizations
Expressions
data anonymization
1/dˈætə ənənimˌaɪzˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
technical
anonymizing a dataset
Data anonymization means changing a set of data so it no longer shows who the data is about.
Examples
- The hospital used data anonymization before giving patient records to the research team.
- Good data anonymization protects privacy while keeping the dataset useful.
- Regulators questioned whether the company's data anonymization methods were strong enough.
ip anonymization
1/ˈɪp ənənimˌaɪzˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
technical
hiding an IP address
IP anonymization means changing an internet address so it cannot easily identify a user or device.
Examples
- The site enabled IP anonymization in its analytics settings.
- IP anonymization may shorten the address before it is stored.
- The privacy policy says that IP anonymization is applied to all visitor statistics.