Definition of legislate
legislated
;legislating
intransitive verb
: to perform the function of legislation; specifically : to make or enact laws
transitive verb
: to mandate, establish, or regulate by or as if by legislation
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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 of legislate from the Web
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As humans began to seriously consider the consequences of their light use, countries began to legislate against it.
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The ruling is likely to pull Congress into legislating the matter, a process that could either lead to a relatively simple fix or open the door to broader debates.
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With everyone from Audi to Google to Volvo developing autonomous vehicles, the federal government is cautiously getting behind the wheel to regulate how self-driving cars should be operated and legislated.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'legislate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of legislate
back-formation from legislator
First Known Use: 1656
Other Government and Politics Terms
LEGISLATE Defined for English Language Learners
legislate
playDefinition of legislate for English Language Learners
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: to make laws
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: to control, create, or cause (something) by making laws
LEGISLATE Defined for Kids
legislate
playDefinition of legislate for Students
legislated
;legislating
: to make laws
Law Dictionary
legislate
playLegal Definition of legislate
legislated
legislating
intransitive verb
transitive verb
Learn More about legislate
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See words that rhyme with legislate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for legislate Spanish Central: Translation of legislate Nglish: Translation of legislate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of legislate for Arabic speakers
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