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.
Since California had legalized the procedure decades earlier, Seymour reasoned that he should respect women’s choices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
Supreme Court had legalized gay marriage three years earlier.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 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
