Explanation
Criminalization is the act of making something criminal, or making it against the law. When the U.S. Congress made it illegal to consume or sell alcohol in 1920, that criminalization of drinking ushered in a historic period known as Prohibition. Any activity can be criminalized, or go through a process of criminalization. When Sleeping Beauty's parents banished shuttlecocks and spinning wheels from their fairy tale kingdom, that was the criminalization of spinning. The word can also apply more generally to not just to the outlawed activity, but to people or practices associated with it. Thus, a law making it a crime to eat candy might be called "the criminalization of Halloween." And crime or not, that's just wrong.
Vocabulary lists containing criminalization
Words with 15 or More Letters, List 5
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crim, crimin (judgement; accusation)
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crim, crimin
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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.
“The Interstate Milk Freedom Act would make it easier for families to buy the milk of their choice,” Massie said when he announced the bill, “by reversing the criminalization of specific dairy farmers.”
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Since the announcement, there’s been an air of fear among advocates, outreach staff, and people sleeping outside about whether this would be a turning point in D.C.’s criminalization of homelessness.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2025
Homeless advocacy organizations saw those edicts as a push for criminalization of homelessness and mental illness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2025
The Pregnancy Justice report showed that low-income women were particularly targeted by pregnancy criminalization as well.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2025
For starters, criminalization is plainly cruel because people experiencing homelessness have nowhere else to go.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
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.
