legislate
verb
leg·is·late
ˈle-jə-ˌslāt 
legislated; legislating
: to perform the function of legislation
specifically
: to make or enact laws
: to mandate, establish, or regulate by or as if by legislation
Examples of legislate in a Sentence
They are attempting to legislate morality.
the need to better legislate foreign trade
trying to legislate changes in the current law
Recent Examples on the Web
Perhaps countries could legislate to make these watermarking technologies mandatory, but then there will certainly be countries that elect not to, and shady operations that build their own AI models to get around any such restrictions.
—
New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2024
To allegedly protect the most vulnerable, Senator Warren and friends are unwittingly legislating much greater vulnerability, all to the benefit of scammers.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
But a president can't legislate without a like-minded Congress, and the Supreme Court's recent push toward states' rights has made gubernatorial and local races more important than ever.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2024
By Ben Westcott / Bloomberg September 9, 2024 10:15 PM EDT
Australia’s government will work with states and territories to legislate new age limits for social media websites, as part of a push to protect children’s mental health and shield them from inappropriate content online.
—Ben Westcott / Bloomberg, TIME, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for legislate 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2024
To allegedly protect the most vulnerable, Senator Warren and friends are unwittingly legislating much greater vulnerability, all to the benefit of scammers.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
But a president can't legislate without a like-minded Congress, and the Supreme Court's recent push toward states' rights has made gubernatorial and local races more important than ever.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2024
By Ben Westcott / Bloomberg September 9, 2024 10:15 PM EDT
Australia’s government will work with states and territories to legislate new age limits for social media websites, as part of a push to protect children’s mental health and shield them from inappropriate content online.
—Ben Westcott / Bloomberg, TIME, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for legislate
Dictionary Entries Near legislate
Cite this Entry
“Legislate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legislate. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
legislate
verb
leg·is·late
ˈlej-ə-ˌslāt
legislated; legislating
1
: to make laws
the constitutional power to legislate
2
: to cause, establish, or regulate by legislation
legislating foreign trade
Legal Definition
legislate
verb
leg·is·late
ˈle-jəs-ˌlāt
legislated; legislating
: to perform the function of legislation
specifically
: to make or enact laws
: to cause, create, provide, or bring about by legislation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share