Standard Lemma guide

criminalize

verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K R IH1 M AH0 N AH0 L AY2 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To make (something) a crime; to make illegal under criminal law; to ban.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To treat as a criminal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

declare illegal; outlaw

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Marijuana is criminalized in the U.S.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: outlaw, criminalise, illegalize, illegalise

Antonyms: decriminalize

Broader terms: forbid, prohibit, interdict, proscribe, veto, disallow, nix

Narrower terms: ban, censor

4

verb

Meaning 4

treat as a criminal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: treat, handle, do by

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English criminal Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English criminalize From criminal + -ize.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: جَرَّمَ (jarrama) — to make something be a crime
  • Catalan: criminalitzar — to make something be a crime
  • Finnish: kriminalisoida — to make something be a crime
  • Finnish: tehdä laittomaksi — to make something be a crime
  • French: criminaliser — to make something be a crime
  • Galician: prohibir — to make something be a crime
  • Galician: ilegalizar — to make something be a crime
  • Galician: penalizar — to make something be a crime
  • Greek: ποινικοποιώ (poinikopoió) — to make something be a crime
  • Hebrew: הוציא מחוץ לחוק (hotzí mikhútz lakhók) — to make something be a crime
  • Italian: criminalizzare — to make something be a crime
  • Japanese: 犯罪視する (hanzaishi suru) — to make something be a crime
  • Japanese: 犯罪化する (hanzaika suru) — to make something be a crime
  • Portuguese: criminalizar — to make something be a crime
  • Romanian: criminaliza — to make something be a crime
  • Russian: криминализова́ть (kriminalizovátʹ) — to make something be a crime
  • Spanish: prohibir — to make something be a crime
  • Spanish: ilegalizar — to make something be a crime
  • Spanish: penalizar — to make something be a crime
  • Swedish: kriminalisera — to make something be a crime
  • Catalan: criminalitzar — to treat as a criminal
  • Finnish: kohdella kuin rikollista — to treat as a criminal
  • Finnish: leimata rikolliseksi — to treat as a criminal
  • French: criminaliser — to treat as a criminal
  • Galician: criminalizar — to treat as a criminal
  • German: kriminalisieren — to treat as a criminal
  • Italian: criminalizzare — to treat as a criminal
  • Portuguese: criminalizar — to treat as a criminal
  • Spanish: criminalizar — to treat as a criminal