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
Public awareness of the harms caused by criminalizing marijuana grew, and so too did a movement to raise awareness about the medicinal benefits of its use, especially for chemotherapy and cancer parents, who found marijuana use helpful for combatting nausea.
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Marin Cogan, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024
Trump’s Christian Nationalist Vision for America Advocacy organizations like these sought to pass laws beginning in the 1890s criminalizing drinking, swearing, and loitering while working to restrict integrated spaces, immigration, voting, and reproductive rights.
—William Horne / Made By History, TIME, 17 Oct. 2024
In 2020, South Korea passed a law criminalizing the sending of anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the border as the previous liberal government in Seoul pushed for engagement with Pyongyang.
—Gawon Bae, CNN, 11 Oct. 2024
Suffering from a grave infection, the 28-year-old medical assistant and single mother needed a procedure that had been criminalized in Georgia, with few exceptions.
—Alexandra Zayas, ProPublica, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for criminalize 
Marin Cogan, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024
Trump’s Christian Nationalist Vision for America Advocacy organizations like these sought to pass laws beginning in the 1890s criminalizing drinking, swearing, and loitering while working to restrict integrated spaces, immigration, voting, and reproductive rights.
—William Horne / Made By History, TIME, 17 Oct. 2024
In 2020, South Korea passed a law criminalizing the sending of anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the border as the previous liberal government in Seoul pushed for engagement with Pyongyang.
—Gawon Bae, CNN, 11 Oct. 2024
Suffering from a grave infection, the 28-year-old medical assistant and single mother needed a procedure that had been criminalized in Georgia, with few exceptions.
—Alexandra Zayas, ProPublica, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for criminalize
Thesaurus Entries Near criminalize
Cite this Entry
“Criminalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/criminalize. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
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