as in to outlaw
to make or declare contrary to the law
wanted to criminalize an activity that the mountaineers had been engaging in for generations
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Recent Examples of criminalize
These ten cases illuminate governments’ efforts at criminalizing journalism, silencing the media, and withholding information from the public.
—
One Free Press Coalition, Time, 1 May 2025
If the executive is allowed to criminalize judicial management decisions under the guise of obstruction, the entire system of checks and balances will collapse.
—Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Disputed claims of 'genocide' in South Africa Genocide is defined in the Genocide Convention, an international treaty that criminalizes genocide, as the killing of members of a group because of their race, religion or national origin, as in the Holocaust.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 May 2025
Instead of addressing the state’s public health emergency, Georgia’s leaders have doubled down on cruel, dehumanizing policies that criminalize pregnancy and control women’s bodies.
—Jameelah Nasheed, Essence, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for criminalize
One Free Press Coalition, Time, 1 May 2025
If the executive is allowed to criminalize judicial management decisions under the guise of obstruction, the entire system of checks and balances will collapse.
—Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Disputed claims of 'genocide' in South Africa Genocide is defined in the Genocide Convention, an international treaty that criminalizes genocide, as the killing of members of a group because of their race, religion or national origin, as in the Holocaust.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 May 2025
Instead of addressing the state’s public health emergency, Georgia’s leaders have doubled down on cruel, dehumanizing policies that criminalize pregnancy and control women’s bodies.
—Jameelah Nasheed, Essence, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for criminalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for criminalize
Verb
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The following year, after California briefly outlawed the death penalty, their sentences were commuted to life with the possibility of parole.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
2 June 2025
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The Israeli government declared Kach to be a terrorist organization, effectively outlawing it.—
Gershom Gorenberg,
The Atlantic,
30 May 2025
Verb
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At the state level, Republicans seized upon the policy change to gin up support for a past policy that would have banned trans girls from school sports.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
27 May 2025
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Words like social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion have been all but banned at most Fortune 500 companies.—
Jennifer Lotito,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Criminalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/criminalize. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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