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
All of us must reject this horrific attempt to criminalize, entrap, and spread more fear and chaos in our neighborhoods.
—
David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
The law even criminalized the presence of Bosnian state institutions within Republika Srpska, with stiff penalties extending to local officials who cooperated with the central government’s officials.
—Ismet Fatih Cancar, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
Rabinowitz and other experts say both Republicans and Democrats are undermining Housing First by criminalizing homelessness and conducting encampment sweeps that hinder the ability of front-line workers to get people into housing and services, prolonging their homelessness.
—Angela Hart, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2025
When the country began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, these changes allowed the government to criminalize opposition.
—Stephen Norris, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for criminalize
David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
The law even criminalized the presence of Bosnian state institutions within Republika Srpska, with stiff penalties extending to local officials who cooperated with the central government’s officials.
—Ismet Fatih Cancar, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2025
Rabinowitz and other experts say both Republicans and Democrats are undermining Housing First by criminalizing homelessness and conducting encampment sweeps that hinder the ability of front-line workers to get people into housing and services, prolonging their homelessness.
—Angela Hart, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2025
When the country began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, these changes allowed the government to criminalize opposition.
—Stephen Norris, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for criminalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for criminalize
Verb
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The organization was outlawed in 2021 due to alleged extremist views, which led to a 19-year sentence for its leader, who died in an Arctic penal colony last year.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
15 Apr. 2025
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While the feds rule the sky, the city can regulate where helicopters are permitted to land — a move made by city officials who outlawed rooftop landings following the 1977 Pan Am crash.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Several food dyes found in candies, soft drinks and snack foods will be banned.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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Red 3 was banned from cosmetics more than three decades before it was stripped from food and medicine.—
Matthew Perrone,
Twin Cities,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Criminalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/criminalize. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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