“Decriminalize” or “Decriminalise”

Language

Decriminalize and decriminalise are both English terms.

Usage

Decriminalize is predominantly used in 🇺🇸 American (US) English (en-US) while decriminalise is predominantly used in 🇬🇧 British English (used in UK/AU/NZ) (en-GB).

In terms of actual appearance and usage, here's a breakdown by country, with usage level out of 100 (if available) 👇:

Term	US	UK	India	Philippines	Canada	Australia	Liberia	Ireland	New Zealand	Jamaica	Trinidad & Tobago	Guyana
decriminalize	100	36	29	95	97	24	0	37	40	100	85	0
decriminalise	0	64	71	5	3	76	0	63	60	0	15	0

• In the United States, there is a preference for "decriminalize" over "decriminalise" (100 to 0).
• In the United Kingdom, there is a 64 to 36 preference for "decriminalise" over "decriminalize".
• In India, there is a 71 to 29 preference for "decriminalise" over "decriminalize".
• In the Philippines, there is a preference for "decriminalize" over "decriminalise" (95 to 5).
• In Canada, there is a preference for "decriminalize" over "decriminalise" (97 to 3).
• In Australia, there is a 76 to 24 preference for "decriminalise" over "decriminalize".
• In Liberia, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "decriminalize" and "decriminalise".
• In Ireland, there is a 63 to 37 preference for "decriminalise" over "decriminalize".
• In New Zealand, there is a 60 to 40 preference for "decriminalise" over "decriminalize".
• In Jamaica, there is a preference for "decriminalize" over "decriminalise" (100 to 0).
• In Trinidad & Tobago, there is a preference for "decriminalize" over "decriminalise" (85 to 15).
• In Guyana, there is not enough data to determine a preference between "decriminalize" and "decriminalise".

Examples

Below, we provide some examples of when to use decriminalize or decriminalise with sample sentences.

Trends

📈 See Trends