criminalization
/ˌkɹɪmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/
"criminalization" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“criminalization” is an uncommon English word, ranked #51,042 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #51,042
- frequency rank, English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of making a previously legal activity illegal, the act of making something a criminal offence.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | criminalization |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌkɹɪmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 15 |
| Frequency rank | #51,042 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “criminalization” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for criminalization is 15 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkɹɪmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #51,042 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for criminalization in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From criminal + -ization or criminalize + -ation. The correct English form is criminalization, spelled C-R-I-M-I-N-A-L-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of making a previously legal activity illegal, the act of making something a criminal offence.
- 2The act of turning someone into a criminal by making their activities illegal.
Etymology
From criminal + -ization or criminalize + -ation.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "criminalization"?
What does "criminalization" mean?
How do you pronounce "criminalization"?
What is the origin of the word "criminalization"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “criminalization”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-R-I-M-I-N-A-L-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkɹɪmɪnəlaɪzˈeɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.