illegalize
/ɪˈliːɡəlʌɪz/
"illegalize" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“illegalize” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make illegal; to prohibit by law, to criminalize.
Corpus desk
Index EN-illegalize · illegalize · English
illegalize · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | illegalize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪˈliːɡəlʌɪz/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “illegalize” in English
Rare enough to double-check
illegalize is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪˈliːɡəlʌɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To make illegal; to prohibit by law, to criminalize.".
No misspelling variants are generated for illegalize in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From illegal + -ize or il- + legalize. The correct English form is illegalize, spelled I-L-L-E-G-A-L-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To make illegal; to prohibit by law, to criminalize.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how illegalize appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Only as recently as 1991 was the rape by a husband of his wife illegalised.
A 1908 Act illegalised the teagle, a particularly nasty snare of baited hooks joined by strings which was put out to attract birds during hard weather.
Etymology
From illegal + -ize or il- + legalize.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.