as in outlawing
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 criminalizing
In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II posthumously pardoned Alan Turing, the World War II codebreaker convicted under laws criminalizing homosexuality, and in 2017 the UK government extended the pardon to thousands of other gay and bisexual men convicted under similar statutes.
—
James Frater, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
The second step, criminalizing all criticism, hardly needs detailing; most of the leading democratic dissidents, including in Poland, spent time in prison.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
That’s what makes criminalizing hate so fraught, particularly regarding hate speech.
—The Detroit News Editorial Board, Twin Cities, 24 Sep. 2025
But in 2024, Anutin, who in the meantime assumed the role of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior within the new government, announced that the Thai government was planning to regulate cannabis without re-criminalizing it for recreational use, as initially planned.
—Dario Sabaghi, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
This year, state lawmakers passed a law criminalizing local officials who cast votes for any kind of sanctuary policy.
—Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Sep. 2025
Gorgeous added that, rather than criminalizing trans kids who steal, or tattling on them, people should be looking for ways to help them.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 3 Sep. 2025
Shortly after that, Congress passed a law criminalizing flag burning but the court later struck it down.
—Laurie Kellman, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
If Britain continues down the path of criminalizing thought and prayer, the alliance risks being reduced to polite diplomacy while its moral core rots away.
—Lois McLatchie Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
James Frater, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
The second step, criminalizing all criticism, hardly needs detailing; most of the leading democratic dissidents, including in Poland, spent time in prison.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
That’s what makes criminalizing hate so fraught, particularly regarding hate speech.
—The Detroit News Editorial Board, Twin Cities, 24 Sep. 2025
But in 2024, Anutin, who in the meantime assumed the role of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior within the new government, announced that the Thai government was planning to regulate cannabis without re-criminalizing it for recreational use, as initially planned.
—Dario Sabaghi, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
This year, state lawmakers passed a law criminalizing local officials who cast votes for any kind of sanctuary policy.
—Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 4 Sep. 2025
Gorgeous added that, rather than criminalizing trans kids who steal, or tattling on them, people should be looking for ways to help them.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 3 Sep. 2025
Shortly after that, Congress passed a law criminalizing flag burning but the court later struck it down.
—Laurie Kellman, Chicago Tribune, 26 Aug. 2025
If Britain continues down the path of criminalizing thought and prayer, the alliance risks being reduced to polite diplomacy while its moral core rots away.
—Lois McLatchie Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for criminalizing
Verb
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The legislature also passed a law outlawing the use of Medicaid for gender-affirming care.—
Sarah Henry,
Louisville Courier Journal,
13 Oct. 2025
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The floodplain has been redrawn wider than ever, outlawing home construction in new danger zones.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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More than a dozen of this year’s participants were aged 30 or above, after Miss USA lifted longstanding rules in 2024 banning women aged over 28 (as well as married women and mothers) from entering.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
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Bovino was accused of throwing at least one tear gas canister into a crowd of protesters the following day in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, per CNN, potentially violating a judge’s temporary restraining order banning the use of such tactics in the city.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Criminalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/criminalizing. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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