legalize

especially British, le·gal·ise

[lee-guh-lahyz]

verb (used with object)

legalized, legalizing 

1. to make legal; authorize.

legalize

/ ˈliːɡəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to make lawful or legal

2. to confirm or validate (something previously unlawful)

Other Word Forms

• legalization noun
• unlegalized adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of legalize¹

First recorded in 1710–20; legal + -ize

Example Sentences

Federal agents, empowered by a recent Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized racial profiling, have admitted as much.

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The agreement offered the new industry temporary relief by eliminating the cultivation tax passed by voters under Proposition 64, the 2016 initiative that legalized cannabis.

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Four years ago, she said, she secured work at Glass House Farms, a major player in the legalized cannabis boom.

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But the government’s motions say, “These people have not done anything to legalize their status, we need a final resolution.”

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Early in his career, Falwell gave a sermon in which he declared that integration “will destroy our race eventually,” warning that after school desegregation, legalized interracial marriage would be next.

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Related Words

• approve 
• authorize 
• codify 
• constitute 
• decriminalize 
• enact 
• permit 
• regulate