Word.ws English Dictionary

decriminalization

/diːˌkɹɪmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/

decriminalization noun: the act of making an activity or substance no longer criminalized (no longer a crime, subject to criminal penalties, to perform or possess). (Compare legalization, which often implies regulation.).

Noun

decriminalization (uncountable)

  1. The act of making an activity or substance no longer criminalized (no longer a crime, subject to criminal penalties, to perform or possess). (Compare legalization, which often implies regulation.)
    • the decriminalization of all plant-based psychedelics
    • Some opponents also said federal decriminalization would contribute to more death and injury from impaired drivers using marijuana.2020 April 12, Deirdre Walsh, “House Approves Decriminalizing Marijuana; Bill To Stall In Senate”, in NPR
  2. The act of ceasing to treat a person as a criminal, by making their activities legal or no longer subjecting them to the criminal justice system (but instead possibly the mental healthcare system, etc).
    • Most sex work feminists support either the legalization or the decriminalization of sex workers.2012, Sverre Molland, The Perfect Business? Anti-Trafficking and the Sex Trade along the Mekong, University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 38

decriminalization meaning in Vietnamese

decriminalization in Vietnamese

making something no longer illegal
phi hình sự hóa
turning a criminal into a non-criminal
phi hình sự hóa

Antonyms of decriminalization

Forms of decriminalization

alternative formdecriminalisation

Origin of decriminalization

From de- + criminalization or decriminalize + -ation.

Questions about decriminalization

What does decriminalization mean?
Decriminalization means the act of making an activity or substance no longer criminalized (no longer a crime, subject to criminal penalties, to perform or possess). (Compare legalization, which often implies regulation.).
What is decriminalization in Vietnamese?
Decriminalization in Vietnamese is phi hình sự hóa. See Decriminalization meaning in Vietnamese.
What part of speech is decriminalization?
Decriminalization is a noun.
How do you pronounce decriminalization?
Decriminalization is pronounced /diːˌkɹɪmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/.

Words near decriminalization in the dictionary

  1. decriminalisation
  2. decriminalise
  3. decriminalised
  4. decriminalises
  5. decriminalising
  6. decriminalization
  7. decriminalize
  8. decriminalized
  9. decriminalizer
  10. decriminalizers
  11. decriminalizes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: decriminalization (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-decriminalization.wav.

Cite this entry: “decriminalization.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/decriminalization. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.