criminalize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to make (an action or activity) criminal
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to treat (a person) as a criminal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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criminalizesimple
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criminalizessimple
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have criminalizedperfect
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has criminalizedperfect
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am criminalizingprogressive
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are criminalizingprogressive
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is criminalizingprogressive
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have been criminalizingperfect progressive
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has been criminalizingperfect progressive
Past
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criminalizedsimple
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had criminalizedperfect
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was criminalizingprogressive
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were criminalizingprogressive
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had been criminalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of criminalize
Vocabulary lists containing criminalize
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.
See Examples For:
I suspect that experience gave her a very strong civil libertarian instinct that manifests here as a deep skepticism towards state power to criminalize gun possession.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
He proposes to protect the country’s border using electronic surveillance and digital controls and to criminalize illegal entry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 7, 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
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
Approximately 45 states, including New Jersey, have passed legislation that criminalizes AI-generated or modified images of this kind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
And she directed officers to “fully enforce” a measure that criminalizes “unlawful” demonstrations, evidently in response to District residents protesting federal enforcement actions.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2025
It criminalizes the destruction of evidence - like records or documents.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2024
Libya criminalizes normalization of ties with Israel, according to a 1957 law.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
Texas also criminalizes the exploitation of children and the elderly, defined as illegal or improperly using someone for monetary or personal benefit.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2023
“Right now, we’re flying blind, especially in places where we’ve criminalized wildlife trade and driven it underground.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
He was also gay at a time when homosexuality was criminalized in Britain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
State legislatures literally criminalized the possession of things like David Walker's "Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World."
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2025
Cimino asked: “Why is she criminalized for the act that he did?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2025
Her trial's likely to prove rather interesting, however, as she only commits "crimes" in areas of social activity that haven't even been defined yet, much less successfully criminalized.
From The Cyberpunk Fakebook by St. Jude
In some places, laws criminalizing certain psychological abuse, like “coercive control,” are making it onto the books, but it varies wildly by state.
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2026
Lawmaker Reimont Luiz Otoni Santa Barbara has introduced the "Red Pill Bill," aimed at criminalizing content that he says promotes violence against women.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
Venezuela’s National Assembly has approved a measure criminalizing activities that hinder navigation and commerce, including the seizure of oil tankers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
If he was right, the recently disclosed battles over criminalizing noncriminal conduct may be the beginning of the process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
The state refused to step in to aid the movie companies by criminalizing the new technology.
From The Public Domain Enclosing the Commons of the Mind by Boyle, James
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.
