criminalize
Definition
- Verb:
- To make an activity illegal by law; to outlaw: The action of declaring something a criminal offense through legislation or legal process.
- To treat or regard someone as a criminal: The act of stigmatizing or prosecuting a person as if they were a criminal.
Usage Examples
- Verb (to outlaw):
- The new law will criminalize the possession of certain substances.
- Many activists argue we should not criminalize homelessness.
- Verb (to treat as a criminal):
- The regime's policy was to criminalize political dissent.
- We must be careful not to criminalize young people for minor mistakes.
Advanced Usage
- "to criminalize an entire group": To apply criminal treatment or stigma broadly to a category of people.
- The proposed policy would effectively criminalize an entire community based on their origin.
- "to be criminalized" (passive voice): To be made illegal or to be treated as criminal.
- This behavior was criminalized in the last century.
Variants and Related Words
- Criminalization (n): The process of making something illegal or treating it as criminal.
- The criminalization of poverty is a serious social issue.
- Decriminalize (v): The opposite action; to remove criminal penalties for an act.
- Some regions have chosen to decriminalize minor traffic offenses.
- Recriminalize (v): To make illegal again after a period of being legal or decriminalized.
- There is pressure on the government to recriminalize the substance.
Synonyms
- Outlaw: To make something illegal.
- Proscribe: To forbid, especially by law.
- Stigmatize: To describe or regard as worthy of disgrace (closer to the second meaning of treating as a criminal).
Related Phrases
- Criminalize behavior: To make a specific type of conduct illegal.
- The aim is to criminalize predatory lending practices.
- Criminalize speech: To make certain forms of expression illegal (often discussed in contexts of free speech).
- Laws that criminalize speech are controversial in democratic societies.
Verb
-
declare illegal; outlaw
-
Marijuana is criminalized in the U.S.
-
-
treat as a criminal
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