decriminalise
decriminalise — verb
1. to change the law so that doing or having a particular thing — usually a minor d
to change the law so that doing or having a particular thing — usually a minor drug, a sexual practice, or a public-order act — is no longer treated as a crime that can be punished.
Portugal decided to decriminalise the personal use of small amounts of drugs back in 2001.
decriminalise + abstract noun phrase ('the personal use of...')
Many doctors have urged the government to decriminalise cannabis for patients with chronic pain.
passive-to-infinitive: urge X to decriminalise Y
After years of protest, abortion was finally decriminalised in the Republic of Ireland in 2018.
Sana argued that decriminalising sex work would make life safer for thousands of women.
The new mayor promised to decriminalise minor parking offences and replace fines with warnings.
- legalise
stronger — makes the act fully legal and usually regulated, not just unpunished
- depenalise
technical legal term; removes the penalty while keeping the act itself illegal on paper
- deregulate
broader business sense — removes rules generally, not specifically criminal status
- criminalise
direct opposite — make an act punishable as a crime
- outlaw
forbid by law; stronger and more absolute than criminalise
文法句型
decriminalise + noun (an act / a substance)
用法筆記
Subject is usually a government, parliament, court, or country; object is usually an act (drug use, abortion, prostitution) or a substance (cannabis, marijuana). Frequently passive ('X was decriminalised in 2018'). Distinguish from 'legalise': decriminalising removes criminal punishment but keeps the act regulated or socially disapproved, while legalising fully permits it.