legislate
Americanverb (used without object)
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legislates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
legislated,
past participle, past
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legislating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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legislates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
legislated,
past participle, past
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legislating
present participle
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
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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legislatesimple
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legislatessimple
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have legislatedperfect
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has legislatedperfect
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am legislatingprogressive
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are legislatingprogressive
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is legislatingprogressive
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have been legislatingperfect progressive
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has been legislatingperfect progressive
Past
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legislatedsimple
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had legislatedperfect
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was legislatingprogressive
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were legislatingprogressive
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had been legislatingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
The distinction is especially important now as Washington begins to legislate in an atmosphere shaped by the more dramatic version of this story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The owners know they can’t legislate smarts into their contract, so they’re trying the next best thing — tying the hands of their own big spenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Nicholas Bednar and Max Sarinsky, came up with a few solutions that Congress could legislate without violating Slaughter, and I do think it’s worth lifting those up.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
And while US states can legislate for restaurant workers to be paid more, tips are seen by the US government as a core - and expected - component of such employees' income.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
“The lawgivers of antiquity...legislated for single cities,” Adams observed, but “who can legislate for 20 or 30 states, each of which is greater than Greece or Rome at those times?”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The General Assembly legislates for a narrowly politically divided state of some 8.7 million people and considers thousands of bills in sessions scheduled for at most 60 days in even-numbered years, less in odd-numbered years.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
First, it legislates more than mere time, place and manner restrictions.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2023
One of Ms Forbes' rivals for the leadership, Humza Yousaf, is a Muslim but he insists his faith does not dictate how he legislates.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2023
This division of responsibility—Congress legislates policy goals and agencies implement them effectively—is the foundation of functional government.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2020
Wanton obstruction cannot be tolerated in a Parliament that legislates for one-fifth of mankind, although it was the method by which Rome acquired liberty.
From Letters of Lord Acton To Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone by John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron Acton
It was legislated to continue for at least three years, through 2027.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Banks are too complex to govern through legislated rules alone, too important to leave to market discipline, and too dynamic for one-time approval.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Traditional sports betting, through companies like DraftKings and FanDuel, is regulated and legislated by U.S. states, and there are states where Americans still cannot legally bet on sports.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
The increase in the state pension age to 68 is currently legislated for 2044–46, although a review will consider whether to change those dates.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
It had been legislated and regulated to at least seem fair.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
The Irish government has warned that it is considering legislating in the absence of an EU decision.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Going forward, I hope that policymakers will take a more-thoughtful approach when legislating privacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
This week marks the eighth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and allowed states to begin legislating sports betting.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
Labour has so far stopped short of legislating for such a ban, although it has said it is reviewing guidance that allows individual headteachers to ban the devices.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025
On Friday, the thirteenth of February 2009, at 2:15 p.m., after a long week of legislating, the Utah House of Representatives met to discuss texting and driving.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
