legalize B1 Topic:Law & Government Also spelled legalise US /ˈliː.ɡəl.aɪz/ UK /ˈliː.ɡəl.aɪz/ See IPA manual Freq #35384 Meanings 1 verb to make something lawful or officially permitted, especially something that was previously illegal Parliament voted to legalize independent trade unions. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to make something lawful or... authorizepermitmake lawful ↔ Opposites criminalizeillegalizeoutlawban Word family Forms legalized Derived forms legalizedlegalizinglegalization Related forms legallawfullegislationdecriminalize Etymology Formed in English from legal + -ize, literally 'to make legal.' Legal came through Old French from Latin legalis ('relating to law'), from lex ('law'). Topics Law & Government External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # legalize **Type:** Word **Level:** B1 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈliː.ɡəl.aɪz/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈliː.ɡəl.aɪz/ **Frequency rank:** 35384 ## Meanings 1. to make something lawful or officially permitted, especially something that was previously illegal ## Examples - Parliament voted to legalize independent trade unions. ## Synonyms - authorize - permit - make lawful ## Antonyms - criminalize - illegalize - outlaw - ban ## Derived Forms - legalized - legalizing - legalization ## Related Forms - legal - lawful - legislation - decriminalize ## Etymology Formed in English from legal + -ize, literally 'to make legal.' Legal came through Old French from Latin legalis ('relating to law'), from lex ('law'). ## Topics - Law & Government markdown