CRIMINALIZED Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

criminalized 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of criminalized next

as in prohibited

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Dissimilar Words

criminalized

2 of 2

verb

past tense of criminalize

as in outlawed

to make or declare contrary to the law wanted to criminalize an activity that the mountaineers had been engaging in for generations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of criminalized

Adjective

But first McCarty needed a sense of how many women were imprisoned at Mabel Bassett for crimes tied to their own abuse — a phenomenon that sentencing-reform advocates call criminalized survivorship. —

Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026 Isaias Medina, an international lawyer and former Venezuelan diplomat who denounced his own government at the International Criminal Court, described Venezuela as a criminalized state dominated by narcotrafficking networks. —

Solly Boussidan , Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025

Verb

The word also figured heavily in the Alien and Sedition Acts, a set of four 18th century laws that restricted citizenship, expanded the president’s authority to detain and deport foreigners, and criminalized dissenting speech. —

Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 June 2026 The investigation unveiled last fall shows the different ends of the spectrum in how sports can be turned and potentially criminalized. —

Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 June 2026 Along with Jim Crow laws that criminalized Blackness, the loophole allowed for the legal re-enslavement of Black Americans to financially benefit the state. —

Julia Bowling, The Conversation, 29 May 2026 The bill criminalized seditious libel. —

Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026 The deportation is particularly notable because Saab had become one of the most politically sensitive figures within Venezuela’s ruling structure, frequently portrayed by the Maduro regime as proof that Washington criminalized those helping the country circumvent sanctions. —

Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 19 May 2026 The suspension is the latest escalation in President Kais Saied’s widening crackdown on civil society, which has increasingly criminalized journalism, activism and political opposition. —

Ghaya Ben Mbarek, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026 The concept has been criminalized in Hawaii and incorporated into family or civil court definitions of domestic violence in states such as California, Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont. —

Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026 Homosexual activity is criminalized in several African countries. —

Nicole Winfield The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 24 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for criminalized

Adjective

There is, however, room for questions about where the line between prohibited and acceptable political involvement will fall in practice.

— BrieAnna J. Frank, USA Today, 11 July 2025
The list of prohibited and restricted items, as found on the CBP website, includes alcohol, biological materials, firearms, food and produce such as fruits and vegetables, soil, wildlife, fish, and gold, among other items.

— Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025