verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To make legal or permit under law. Either by decriminalising something that has been illegal or by specifically permitting it.

   "There is a debate whether or not to legalize some of the softer drugs."

2. 2
   make legal wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

legitimateauthorizecertificatecertifycharterconstitute

Antonyms

All antonyms

criminalisecriminalizeillegalizeoutlaw

Example

More examples

"Certain things are easier to legalize than legitimize."

Etymology

From legal + -ize. Piecewise doublet of loyalize.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.