decriminalize
[dee-krim-uh-nl-ahyz]
- to eliminate criminal penalties for or remove legal restrictions against: to decriminalize marijuana.
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Also especially British, de·crim·i·nal·ise.
Origin of decriminalize
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for decriminalize
Contemporary Examples
He once ran for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, on the Freak Power ticket, promising to decriminalize drugs.
decriminalize
decriminalise
- (tr) to remove (an action) from the legal category of criminal offenceto decriminalize the possession of marijuana
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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
Word Origin and History for decriminalize
v.
1963, "to reform a criminal," back-formation from decriminalization. Meaning "to make legal something that formerly had been illegal" was in use by 1970 (there are isolated instances back to 1867). Related: Decriminalized; decriminalizing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper