legislate

IPA/ˈledʒɪsleɪt/
KK[lˈɛdʒɪslˌet]IPA/ˈledʒɪsleɪt/

legislate — verb

  • legislatepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • legislateshe / she / it
  • legislatedpast simple
  • legislating-ing form

1. To create official laws, usually through action by a parliament, congress, or ot

1.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

To create official laws, usually through action by a parliament, congress, or other lawmaking body.

Example

After months of debate, parliament legislated against single-use plastic bags.

legislate against + noun

The new council promised to legislate on safer housing standards this year.

legislate on + issue

Common collocations
  • legislate against child labor
  • legislate on housing
  • legislate to protect workers
  • legislate quickly
  • federal lawmakers legislate
Synonyms
  • enact

    Usually focuses on formally passing a law, while legislate can describe the broader act of lawmaking.

  • make laws

    A plainer phrase with the same core meaning, but less formal than legislate.

  • regulate

    Broader; rules can be set without passing a full law, so it is not always the same as legislate.

Antonyms
  • repeal

    To remove an existing law instead of creating one.

Grammar Patterns

legislate on + issue

legislate against + noun

legislate to + verb

Usage Note

Subject is usually a government, parliament, congress, or similar official body. It often appears with on + issue, against + activity, or to + verb when the purpose of the law is stated.

Common Mistakes

The minister legislated a new tax yesterday.
Parliament legislated to introduce a new tax yesterday.
legislate is usually intransitive, so the law itself is not the direct object.
Our school legislated a phone rule last week.
Our school made a rule about phones last week.
legislate is mainly used for formal state lawmaking, not ordinary school or office rules.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Legislate' is a formal verb for making laws through an official lawmaking body such as a parliament or congress. 'Enact' is close, but it usually points to the moment a law is formally passed and put into force. 'Regulate' is broader: a government agency can regulate an industry through detailed rules even when no new law is made. 'Repeal' goes in the opposite direction, because it means cancelling a law that already exists. A parliament may legislate on online safety, then enact a specific bill. A transport ministry may regulate train fares, while a later government may repeal an unpopular rail law.

legislate ↗enact ↗regulate ↗repeal

Common collocations

Phrases

  • legislate against child labor
  • legislate on online safety

Prepositions

  • legislate against
  • legislate on
  • legislate to

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Built in English from the Latin root 'lex, legis', meaning 'law', together with the verb ending '-ate'. The word has long been used for the act of making laws through an official public body.

First known use

1656

1656, in the meaning defined at transitive sense