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.

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criminalize British  

/ ˈkrɪmɪnəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to make (an action or activity) criminal

2. to treat (a person) as a criminal

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Other Word Forms

• criminalization
  noun
• recriminalization
  noun
• recriminalize
  verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of criminalize

First recorded in 1955–60; criminal + -ize

Example Sentences

Congress can certainly criminalize smuggling directed at our shores.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 8, 2025

At the meeting, a captain said officers are limited in what they can do, because it was the policy of the county not to criminalize homelessness.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2025

“These people are patrons too and this comes across as another step to criminalize homelessness,” Moreno said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2025

But criminalizing parody opens up enough dangerous doors that even the most self-interested people who oppose it are onto something, and it sure does seem like this law could criminalize parody.

From Slate • Apr. 25, 2025

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

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2024