as in to permit
to make (something) legal
They wanted to legalize gambling in their city.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of legalize
That same year, the NFL cut a three-year deal with the organization to partner on international games held in England, where online sports betting was formally legalized in 2005.
—
Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The City of Milpitas has cleared a path for homeowners to build or legalize accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
—Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2026
But now, there’s a new referendum drive to legalize recreational pot, and once again, the invisible hand of Ron DeSantis is cheerlessly throttling the life out of direct democracy.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026
Bob Katter 60 Minutes Bob Katter believes that legalizing crocodile hunting would make waterways safe again - and turn a profit by attracting big game hunters.
—Holly Williams, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for legalize
Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
The City of Milpitas has cleared a path for homeowners to build or legalize accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
—Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2026
But now, there’s a new referendum drive to legalize recreational pot, and once again, the invisible hand of Ron DeSantis is cheerlessly throttling the life out of direct democracy.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 23 Jan. 2026
Bob Katter 60 Minutes Bob Katter believes that legalizing crocodile hunting would make waterways safe again - and turn a profit by attracting big game hunters.
—Holly Williams, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for legalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legalize
Verb
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The New York State Legislature is expected to consider a state constitutional amendment to permit mid-decade redistricting or further modifications to the 2014 state constitutional amendment that created new redistricting reforms.—
Jeffrey M. Wice,
New York Daily News,
30 Jan. 2026
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Unexpected costs include permitting, inspections, and changes to your design plans.—
Timothy Dale,
The Spruce,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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None of us are qualified to coordinate a citywide effort to resist a heavily armed and federally-sanctioned squad of sociopaths, unleashed with total impunity upon everyday citizens.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
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As usual, the list of evils leads off with a medical procedure that is never directly condemned in the Bible — and is arguably even sanctioned in Jewish texts when a pregnancy threatens a woman’s health.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Very cold air already in place will allow snow to accumulate quickly across the region, sticking to roads, bridges and untreated surfaces with little melting.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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The Revolutionary Guard holds vast business interest across Iran, and sanctions could allow its assets in Europe to be seized.—
SAM McNEIL AND JON GAMBRELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the Chiefs work to get their stadium and facilities up and running before the 2031-2032 season, any development and additional incentive requests will need to be approved at the local level.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
4 Feb. 2026
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The daycare approved by state officials dictated Rochelle’s schedule.—
Jayme Fraser,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On Friday, Anthropic announced new legal, finance and product marketing capabilities for its Claude Cowork productivity tool, and released the plugins under an open-source license, enabling customization.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
5 Feb. 2026
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These devices also have the potential to enable portable power generation, for example, to run small sensors in remote locations, according to a press release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For starters, this rule was put into place with zero notice — not even to county tax collectors, who now oversee the nuts-and-bolts operation of licensing Florida’s nearly 19 million drivers.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Feb. 2026
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In addition to selling chips, Qualcomm also licenses its intellectual property for technologies such as 5G to other hardware companies.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Legalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legalize. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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