legalize

[ lee-guh-lahyz ]

/ ˈli gəˌlaɪz /

verb (used with object), le·gal·ized, le·gal·iz·ing.

to make legal; authorize.

Nearby words

Also especially British, le·gal·ise.

Origin of legalize

First recorded in 1710–20; legal + -ize

Related formsle·gal·i·za·tion, nounun·le·gal·ized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for legalise

They cannot be, sir, if they require a new statute to legalise them.
Jane Eyre|Charlotte Bronte
I will give you all, but I have not the power to legalise your position.'
A German Pompadour|Marie Hay
The Midland were anxious to buy and the Ennis were willing to sell, but Parliament alone could legalise the bargain.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
And it would be but another step in the same direction to legalise brigandage.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art|Various

You know that she and young Ange love each other—they have suffered for it—we will legalise this love of theirs.
Angelot|Eleanor Price

British Dictionary definitions for legalise

legalize

legalise

/ (ˈliːɡəˌlaɪz) /

verb (tr)

to make lawful or legal

to confirm or validate (something previously unlawful)

Derived Formslegalization or legalisation, noun

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 legalise

legalize

1716, from legal + -ize. Related: Legalized; legalizing.