Dictionary

decriminalize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /diːˈkɹɪmɪnəlaɪz/ (UK)

Etymology

Back-formation from decriminalization, equivalent to de- + criminalize.

Meanings

1. (British, English, Oxford, US, transitive) To change the laws so something is no longer a crime.
   • The march to decriminalize drugs moved further across the nation on Tuesday despite continued federal prohibition. 2020 April 11, Thomas Fuller, “Oregon Decriminalizes Small Amounts of Heroin and Cocaine; Four States Legalize Marijuana”, in The New York Times:
   • Last fall Oregon voters decriminalized possession of small amounts of almost all hard drugs, taking a groundbreaking step away from the arrest, charge and jail model for possession that's been a centerpiece of American drug policy since President Richard Nixon declared his War on Drugs 50 years ago this week. 2021 June 18, Eric Westervelt, “Oregon's Pioneering Drug Decriminalization Experiment Is Now Facing The Hard Test”, in NPR:
   • The court’s decision decriminalizes abortions in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, and means that any woman should be able to seek the procedure from a health professional without fear of criminal prosecution. 2022 February 22, Julie Turkewitz, “Colombia Decriminalizes Abortion, Bolstering Trend Across Region”, in The New York Times:
   • The House of Representatives approved decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level on Friday in the first time Congress has acted on the issue. 2020 April 12, Deirdre Walsh, “House Approves Decriminalizing Marijuana; Bill To Stall In Senate”, in NPR:

Forms

Antonyms

criminalize

Deriveds

decriminalization · decriminalizer

Synonyms

legalize

Translations (27)

fi dekriminalisoida (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · da afkriminalisere (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · uk декриміналізува́ти (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · uk декриміналізо́вувати (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · it decriminalizzare (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · fr dépénaliser (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · pt descriminar (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · ja 非犯罪化する (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · hu dekriminalizál (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · pl dekryminalizować (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · es descriminalizar (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · pl zdekryminalizować (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · sv avkriminalisera (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · de entkriminalisieren (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · pl depenalizować (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · et dekriminaliseerima (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · es despenalizar (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · nl decriminaliseren (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · pl zdepenalizować (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · fr décriminaliser (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · pt descriminalizar (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · it depenalizzare (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · mk декриминализира (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · ca despenalitzar (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · ru декриминализи́ровать (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · fi laillistaa (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime) · el αποποινικοποιώ (to change the laws so something is no longer a crime)