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criminalize

American  
[krim-uh-nl-ahyz] / ˈkrɪm ə nlˌaɪz /
especially British, criminalise

verb (used with object)

criminalized, criminalizing

  1. to make punishable as a crime.

    To reduce the graffiti on subway cars, he wants to criminalize the selling of spray paint to minors.

  2. to make a criminal of.

    Drug use has criminalized him.
criminalize British  
/ ˈkrɪmɪnəˌlaɪz /

verb

  1. to make (an action or activity) criminal

  2. to treat (a person) as a criminal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of criminalize

First recorded in 1955–60; criminal + -ize

Vocabulary lists containing criminalize

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Congress can certainly criminalize smuggling directed at our shores.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 8, 2025

It may seem that efforts to criminalize speech will be constitutionally dead on arrival.

From Slate • Dec. 9, 2024

They floated the idea that such a prosecution, if allowed to stand, would criminalize routine dealings between elected officials and constituents.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024

“Prop 312 does not change the city’s commitment to lead with education and services and not criminalize homelessness,” said Dan Wilson, communications director.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2024

The American Medical Association successfully campaigned to criminalize abortion procedures in the 1840s and 1850s.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.