legalize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to make lawful or legal
-
to confirm or validate (something previously unlawful)
Other Word Forms
- legalization noun
- unlegalized adjective
Etymology
Origin of legalize
Explanation
To legalize some activity is to change a law so that people are free to do it. You might live in a state that once banned fireworks, until citizens voted to legalize them—making Independence Day significantly noisier. When something that's been illegal goes through the process of becoming legal, the government legalizes it. Gambling was legalized in Nevada back in the 1930s. To legalize a person is to make them a legal citizen of a country. Today, many people argue for legalizing victimless crimes, or those that arguably don't hurt anyone.
Vocabulary lists containing legalize
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ize
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-ize, List 2
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leg, legis
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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.
Created in response to the failure of a 1998 referendum to legalize abortion in her native Portugal, Rego’s suite offers harrowing views of women who have undergone the procedure illegally.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
“Their philosophy was: If it’s unsafe for kids, then you shouldn’t legalize it. And of course, that’s a stupid standard,” Stroup said.
From Slate • Dec. 23, 2025
In 2004, Kast joined the local Catholic leadership in opposing a bill to legalize divorce in Chile, one of the few countries in the world that still banned it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
“As new states legalize online sports betting, FanDuel will cease offering sports event contracts in those states,” FanDuel’s Wednesday press release said.
From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025
I write that America is my home in my heart, and how citizenship will legalize what I already feel.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
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.
