decriminalize

English

Alternative forms

• decriminalise (non-Oxford British English)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /diːˈkɹɪmɪnəlaɪz/

Verb

decriminalize (third-person singular simple present decriminalizes, present participle decriminalizing, simple past and past participle decriminalized) (American spelling, Oxford British English)

1. (transitive) To change the laws so something is no longer a crime.

   Synonym: legalize

   Antonym: criminalize

   • 2020 November 4, Thomas Fuller, “Oregon Decriminalizes Small Amounts of Heroin and Cocaine; Four States Legalize Marijuana”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     The march to decriminalize drugs moved further across the nation on Tuesday despite continued federal prohibition.

   • 2020 December 4, Deirdre Walsh, “House Approves Decriminalizing Marijuana; Bill To Stall In Senate”, in NPR‎^[2]:

     The House of Representatives approved decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level on Friday in the first time Congress has acted on the issue.

   • 2021 June 18, Eric Westervelt, “Oregon's Pioneering Drug Decriminalization Experiment Is Now Facing The Hard Test”, in NPR‎^[3]:

     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.

   • 2022 February 22, Julie Turkewitz, “Colombia Decriminalizes Abortion, Bolstering Trend Across Region”, in The New York Times‎^[4]:

     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.

Derived terms

• decriminalization
• decriminalizer

Translations

to change the laws so something is no longer a crime

• Catalan: despenalitzar (ca)
• Danish: afkriminalisere
• Dutch: decriminaliseren (nl)
• Estonian: dekriminaliseerima
• Finnish: laillistaa (fi), dekriminalisoida (fi)
• French: dépénaliser (fr), décriminaliser (fr)
• German: entkriminalisieren (de)
• Greek: αποποινικοποιώ (el) (apopoinikopoió)
• Hungarian: dekriminalizál
• Italian: depenalizzare (it), decriminalizzare (it)
• Japanese: 非犯罪化する (hihanzaika suru)
• Macedonian: декриминализира (dekriminalizira)
• Polish: dekryminalizować impf, zdekryminalizować pf, depenalizować impf, zdepenalizować pf
• Portuguese: descriminar (pt), descriminalizar (pt)
• Russian: декриминализи́ровать (ru) impf or pf (dekriminalizírovatʹ)
• Spanish: despenalizar (es), descriminalizar
• Swedish: avkriminalisera (sv)
• Ukrainian: декриміналізо́вувати impf (dekryminalizóvuvaty), декриміналізува́ти impf or pf (dekryminalizuváty)