as in prohibited
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as in outlawed
to make or declare contrary to the law
wanted to criminalize an activity that the mountaineers had been engaging in for generations
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Recent Examples of criminalized
Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
Isaias Medina, an international lawyer and former Venezuelan diplomat who denounced his own government at the International Criminal Court, described Venezuela as a criminalized state dominated by narcotrafficking networks.
—Solly Boussidan , Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025
Ghaya Ben Mbarek, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
The concept has been criminalized in Hawaii and incorporated into family or civil court definitions of domestic violence in states such as California, Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026
Homosexual activity is criminalized in several African countries.
—Nicole Winfield The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 24 Apr. 2026
Homosexual activity is criminalized in several African countries.
—Nicole Winfield, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
In most cases, the possession of such drugs is federally criminalized, and that adds significant hurdles for researchers who are trying to study their effects.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 20 Apr. 2026
Their calls for justice persist despite a decade-old law that criminalized femicide, a crime now punishable by up to 50 years in prison.
—ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Kuwait and Bahrain have similarly criminalized filming and sharing footage of Iranian attacks.
—Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 13 Apr. 2026
One gay man from a country in North Africa was nearly deported to Cameroon, where same-sex activities are criminalized, before his habeas petition was granted.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
But first McCarty needed a sense of how many women were imprisoned at Mabel Bassett for crimes tied to their own abuse — a phenomenon that sentencing-reform advocates call criminalized survivorship.
—Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
Isaias Medina, an international lawyer and former Venezuelan diplomat who denounced his own government at the International Criminal Court, described Venezuela as a criminalized state dominated by narcotrafficking networks.
—Solly Boussidan , Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025
Verb
The suspension is the latest escalation in President Kais Saied’s widening crackdown on civil society, which has increasingly criminalized journalism, activism and political opposition.
—Ghaya Ben Mbarek, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
The concept has been criminalized in Hawaii and incorporated into family or civil court definitions of domestic violence in states such as California, Connecticut, Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026
Homosexual activity is criminalized in several African countries.
—Nicole Winfield The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 24 Apr. 2026
Homosexual activity is criminalized in several African countries.
—Nicole Winfield, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
In most cases, the possession of such drugs is federally criminalized, and that adds significant hurdles for researchers who are trying to study their effects.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 20 Apr. 2026
Their calls for justice persist despite a decade-old law that criminalized femicide, a crime now punishable by up to 50 years in prison.
—ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Kuwait and Bahrain have similarly criminalized filming and sharing footage of Iranian attacks.
—Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 13 Apr. 2026
One gay man from a country in North Africa was nearly deported to Cameroon, where same-sex activities are criminalized, before his habeas petition was granted.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 12 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for criminalized
Adjective
-
There is, however, room for questions about where the line between prohibited and acceptable political involvement will fall in practice.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
-
The list of prohibited and restricted items, as found on the CBP website, includes alcohol, biological materials, firearms, food and produce such as fruits and vegetables, soil, wildlife, fish, and gold, among other items.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
On the other hand, Germany, Austria and Italy are among the EU members that outlawed its use.—
Vladimir Isachenkov,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
-
On the other hand, Germany, Austria and Italy are among the EU members that outlawed its use.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Less than an hour’s drive from the holiday markets, on the way to Salla and its forbidden frontier, hundreds of Finnish soldiers are training to repel any future Russian invasion.—
Liam Denning,
Bloomberg,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Women, whether secular or religious, remain forbidden to read, write or tell stories.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Vaping, meanwhile, is banned outright, and devices will be confiscated at the airport and may even attract fines.—
Shradha Shahani,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The Vermont Principals’ Association banned the school, not just from basketball, but from all athletics and a range of academic competitions.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At the suspect’s residence, investigators found enough contraband Lego pieces to fill two garbage bags.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Shackelford’s three co-conspirators pleaded guilty in connection with the prison bribery and contraband smuggling scheme.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The motions of stellar streams contain clues to how our barred spiral galaxy evolved over billions of years, including through collisions with other galactic realms.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
26 Feb. 2026
-
One of the videos shows a group of men celebrating in a lighted hall, with barred cells on each side.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Criminalized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/criminalized. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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