legalize
verb (used with object)
to make legal; authorize.
had legalized
-
past perfectof legalize.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.
Supreme Court had legalized gay marriage three years earlier.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2022
Her older sister forged their mother’s signature on the permission slip, but because Washington had legalized abortion in 1971, she was able to get one.
From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2022
More than half the states had legalized same-sex marriage by the time the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal nationwide in 2015.
From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021
When he arrived, “we only had six states that had legalized marriage,” he says.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2015
I have always felt that we were as truly one as though the church had solemnized and the law had legalized our union.
From The Re-Creation of Brian Kent by Harold Bell Wright
