legalization
noun
legalization is spelled L-E-G-A-L-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, legalization means “The process of making something legal, the process to legalize, decriminalization” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of legalization is legalizations.
How many letters and syllables are in legalization?
| Letters | 12: L-E-G-A-L-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is legalization?
Legalization appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce legalization?
Legalization has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-legalization.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of legalization
- legalizations plural
- legalisation
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does legalization mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process of making something legal, the process to legalize, decriminalization.
The hippies marched for the legalization of marijuana.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Legalization in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense process of making something legal:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | légalisation |
| German | Legalisierung |
| Portuguese | legalização |
| Spanish | legalización |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does legalization come from?
From legalize + -ation. Piecewise doublet of loyalization.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).