as in sanctioning
to make (something) legal
They wanted to legalize gambling in their city.
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Recent Examples of legalizing
Supporters of legalizing recreational marijuana in Hawaii say a regulated market for adults will improve consumer safety, create new economic opportunities and reduce crime.
—
A.j. Herrington, Forbes.com, 22 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
Abe newly interpreted Article 9 as legalizing collective defense.
—Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
It’s been a long wait for sports fans in the state, with many of the surrounding states legalizing betting apps years ago.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European coalition government's work on pushing through a bill legalizing same-sex unions has been held back by resistance from his conservative coalition partner.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025
While in office, Olson tried unsuccessfully to sell GOP leadership on the idea of legalizing medical marijuana.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 31 Oct. 2025
He was best known in his time at the General Assembly for being one of the top House budget writers and being the major driver behind legalizing sports betting in North Carolina, which drew bipartisan support.
—Andrew Dys, Charlotte Observer, 27 Oct. 2025
Paul floated the possibility of legalizing collective bargaining for the consumer, rather than just by trade.
—Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 26 Oct. 2025
A.j. Herrington, Forbes.com, 22 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
Abe newly interpreted Article 9 as legalizing collective defense.
—Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
It’s been a long wait for sports fans in the state, with many of the surrounding states legalizing betting apps years ago.
—Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European coalition government's work on pushing through a bill legalizing same-sex unions has been held back by resistance from his conservative coalition partner.
—Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025
While in office, Olson tried unsuccessfully to sell GOP leadership on the idea of legalizing medical marijuana.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 31 Oct. 2025
He was best known in his time at the General Assembly for being one of the top House budget writers and being the major driver behind legalizing sports betting in North Carolina, which drew bipartisan support.
—Andrew Dys, Charlotte Observer, 27 Oct. 2025
Paul floated the possibility of legalizing collective bargaining for the consumer, rather than just by trade.
—Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 26 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legalizing
Verb
-
This involves running a candidate event, which is essentially a mock WRC weekend that will evaluate the location’s ability to host a major event in terms of logistics, safety, crowd management, and race sanctioning.—
Jerry Perez,
The Drive,
28 Jan. 2026
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The sanctioning body reverted to The Chase earlier this month — a 10-race postseason.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In theory, that would allow Glenn to lean on him for advice while also permitting him to focus his efforts elsewhere, like on offense and special teams.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Even with sufficient investor support, the project would still have to go through an extensive regulatory and permitting process that would undoubtedly receive pushback from environmental groups.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But an appellate court panel put that decision on hold for the time being, allowing the facility to stay open.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The works will be rotated throughout the galleries, allowing visitors to view them through a different lens.—
Alyson Rodriguez,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Increasing affordable housing units by 2,500 and approving permits for 5,000 more new homes of any kind.—
Jon Murray,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
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An Ipsos poll from April 2025 found Americans slightly more disapproving (53 percent) than approving (46 percent) of his handling of immigration.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By licensing his behavioral models, the TikToker is essentially (and fittingly) a silent partner in the brand deal.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
29 Jan. 2026
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Apple's services business includes subscriptions such as Apple TV and iCloud as well as advertising revenue from licensing agreements with Google, AppleCare warranties and other offerings.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The system comes preloaded with a vision–language–action (VLA) large model and more than 10,000 real-world data samples, enabling it to perform complex tasks without extensive setup or calibration.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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Each one grew up in a home that required her to curry favor with volatile and inconstant parents—a menacing father figure, a recessive and enabling mother—and each found a fragile safety in her caretakers’ occasional good will.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Legalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legalizing. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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