Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decriminalize Another major factor is the passage of Proposition 36 in November 2024, which creates harsher penalties for possession of drugs that had been decriminalized. —
Claire Wang, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026 The Democratic Socialists of America’s national platform, which Mamdani ran on and believes in, includes calls to decriminalize hard drugs, defund or abolish policing, and dismantle charter schools, despite high demand in communities of color. —Darius Jones, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2026 Anutin as health minister in the pre-2023 government pushed to decriminalize cannabis, while the Pheu Thai government tried to reverse that. —Chad De Guzman, Time, 5 Sep. 2025 While there are at least five bills filed to decriminalize or legalize some form of marijuana, there are also at least two bills filed by other Republicans to outlaw signs advertising marijuana products or businesses in some capacity. —Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 14 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for decriminalize
Claire Wang, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026 The Democratic Socialists of America’s national platform, which Mamdani ran on and believes in, includes calls to decriminalize hard drugs, defund or abolish policing, and dismantle charter schools, despite high demand in communities of color. —Darius Jones, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2026 Anutin as health minister in the pre-2023 government pushed to decriminalize cannabis, while the Pheu Thai government tried to reverse that. —Chad De Guzman, Time, 5 Sep. 2025 While there are at least five bills filed to decriminalize or legalize some form of marijuana, there are also at least two bills filed by other Republicans to outlaw signs advertising marijuana products or businesses in some capacity. —Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 14 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for decriminalize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decriminalize
legalize
Verb
-
The bipartisan bill — Senate Bill 131 — was introduced earlier this year with the intention of slowing gambling habits after a group of politicians heard warnings about increasing gambling addiction since Colorado legalized online sports betting in May 2020.— Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
-
Bills to legalize it are pending in about a dozen other states.— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decriminalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/decriminalize. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
