criminalize
verb (used with object)
to make punishable as a crime.
had criminalized
-
past perfectof criminalize.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
She reasoned that for as long as Idaho had criminalized abortion, the state had also allowed access in cases of threats to life—a category that sometimes applied to certain other health crises.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2024
Yet when Parliament passed the 1967 legislation allowing for abortions, it did not repeal an earlier law that had criminalized them.
From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
In a sign of how quickly the landscape has changed, when New York’s bill was first introduced five years ago, it was a trailblazer; only a handful of other states had criminalized revenge porn.
From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2019
Sorcery laws repealed in 1971 had criminalized witchcraft and allowed suspicions of sorcery to be used as a defense in murder trials.
From Reuters ● May 29, 2013
