Recriminalize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To restore the status of being illegal to something that was previously decriminalized or legalized
2. To enact laws that return a formerly permitted or decriminalized activity back to illegal status
3. To reestablish criminal penalties for conduct that had been removed from the criminal code or made lawful

Etymology: "Recriminalize" is a straightforward formation: the prefix "re-" (meaning "again" or "back") attached to "criminalize," which means to make something a crime or to treat it as criminal. Together they describe making an activity illegal again after it had been decriminalized, that is, restoring criminal penalties to something that had previously been removed from the criminal code. The base word "criminalize" is itself built from the Latin-derived "criminal" plus the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning to make or treat as. So the word has two layers of addition: "criminal" (from Latin "crimen," accusation or offence) becomes "criminalize," and the prefix "re-" then reverses a prior change in status. The pattern is common in legal and policy writing, where a government might decriminalize an offence and later recriminalize it.

Synonyms: criminalize, outlaw

Antonyms: decriminalize, legalize