What does illegalize mean?
Illegalize means to make something illegal through law, regulation, or official policy. It is a transitive verb, so it normally appears with an object: a government may illegalize a product, practice, or form of possession. The word is especially common in legal, political, and policy contexts, though it is less frequent than the more general terms prohibit, ban, and outlaw. Its force is specifically legal: it implies that an activity formerly allowed becomes unlawful, rather than merely being discouraged or socially disapproved. In current English, illegalize is also used more broadly to mean forbid, but the legal sense remains central. The related adjective illegal describes conduct or objects that violate the law, while legalization is the process of making something legal. Because illegalize sounds formal and bureaucratic, it is often found in legislation, news reporting, political debate, and institutional announcements.
verbTo make something illegal, especially by law or official policy. It can also mean to prohibit or place under a legal ban.
- To make an activity, product, or form of conduct unlawful by law or official policy.
- To prohibit or place under a legal ban.
"The new regulation illegalizes the sale of the products to minors."
"Several countries have illegalized the practice, citing concerns about public safety."
"The measure would effectively illegalize the widespread sharing of copyrighted material."
Illegalize is the policy word for turning a permitted activity into a prohibited one in a single legal stroke.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does illegalize come from?
Illegalize is formed from illegal plus the suffix -ize, meaning to make or cause to become something. Illegal came into English through French from a Latin form based on legalis, with the negative prefix in-. The related legal family includes legal, legality, and legalize, all tracing back to the Latin root associated with law.
Related word forms
How illegalize is actually used
Relatively uncommon and more typical of legal, governmental, and policy writing than of everyday conversation. It is normally transitive and takes an object, such as 'illegalize the sale of' or 'illegalize possession.'
Easily confused with illegalize
Illegalize is a transitive verb meaning to make something illegal, whereas illegal is an adjective describing something that violates the law.