legislate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
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(intr) to make or pass laws
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(tr) to bring into effect by legislation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has legislatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have legislatedperfect
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are legislatingprogressive
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have been legislatingperfect progressive
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legislatingparticiple
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has been legislatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is legislatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am legislatingprogressive 1st person singular
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legislatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had legislatedperfect
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was legislatingprogressive singular
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had been legislatingperfect progressive
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legislatedsimple
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legislatedparticiple
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were legislatingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of legislate
First recorded in 1710–20; back formation from legislation, legislator
Explanation
To legislate is to make laws. If you thought there should be a law that all money should be pink instead of green, you might write to your congresswoman with a suggestion to legislate your idea. Formal government bodies legislate. So, while you might create a rule at home to ban phone calls at dinner, the House of Representatives would legislate communication regulations during meals. Legislate may seem like a tricky word, but you can easily remember the meaning if you notice that the word begins with the same leg as the word legal does; both words relate to the law.
Vocabulary lists containing legislate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Iroquois Constitution
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Word Generation Weekly - Series 2
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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.
But police argue the government should legislate to prevent under-16s accessing any platform or app which offers features deemed "high-risk".
From BBC • May 21, 2026
“You can’t legislate that, you can’t mandate it, but I think if you ask people, ‘Could we be better?’—I think you won’t get a better result unless you make the ask.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026
It’s done at the state level, and Congress can legislate to alter the time, place, and manner of elections.
From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026
And Washington, for all of its efforts to reshape the economy, can’t legislate aging away.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
I’m sure people did question whether Italian printers were quite the right people to legislate on the meaning of everything; but on the other hand, resistance was obviously useless against ajamily that could invent italics.
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
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.
