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
Congress, sensing leverage or electoral opportunity, could legislate controls that no summit can unwind.
—
Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 31 Dec. 2025
House Republicans recently tried to include a provision in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act asserting that only the federal government could legislate AI; the effort faced backlash and the language was eventually removed.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 12 Dec. 2025
In May, New Zealand proposed a ban on under-16 social media accounts, which would follow a similar age verification process as Australia’s if legislated.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Dec. 2025
Below, read on for a look inside American women's fight to legislate against deepfakes.
—Stacey Leasca, Glamour, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legislate
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Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 31 Dec. 2025
House Republicans recently tried to include a provision in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act asserting that only the federal government could legislate AI; the effort faced backlash and the language was eventually removed.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 12 Dec. 2025
In May, New Zealand proposed a ban on under-16 social media accounts, which would follow a similar age verification process as Australia’s if legislated.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Dec. 2025
Below, read on for a look inside American women's fight to legislate against deepfakes.
—Stacey Leasca, Glamour, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legislate
Cite this Entry
“Legislate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legislate. Accessed 2 Jan. 2026.
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
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