“Decriminalize” or “Decriminalise”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 5 prefer “decriminalize” and 5 prefer “decriminalise”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	decriminalize	decriminalise	Preference
United States	100	0	“decriminalize”
United Kingdom	36	64	“decriminalise”
India	29	71	“decriminalise”
Philippines	95	5	“decriminalize”
Canada	97	3	“decriminalize”
Australia	24	76	“decriminalise”
Liberia	0	0	Not enough data
Ireland	37	63	“decriminalise”
New Zealand	40	60	“decriminalise”
Jamaica	100	0	“decriminalize”
Trinidad & Tobago	85	15	“decriminalize”
Guyana	0	0	Not enough data

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“decriminalize”

…countries in the world to decriminalize homosexual conduct.
…2003, a ballot measure to decriminalize cannabis in the city failed…
…the government would move to decriminalize same-sex sexual activity.
…to introduce a bill to decriminalize abortion and homosexuality in the…
Drugs: Should We Legalize, Decriminalize, Or Deregulate?
…ballot) a citizen-led petition to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis.
…by the National Assembly to decriminalize up to 15 grams of…
…has said it wants to decriminalize homosexual sex.
…a 2 p.m. march to decriminalize marijuana."
…ballot) a citizen-led petition to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis.

“decriminalise”

…Palauan Government promised to fully decriminalise homosexuality.
…Crimes (Amendment) Act 1984, to decriminalise of homosexuality.
…the decision in 2014 to decriminalise school discipline so that minor…
…draft Order in Council to decriminalise homosexual conduct in Northern Ireland…
…moral issues: the bills to decriminalise homosexuality and abortion were Private…
…and began the push to decriminalise homosexual acts under the Crimes…
In an attempt to decriminalise politics, the Election Commission has…
…fed into a campaign to decriminalise prostitution for under-18s.
…to shelve the bill and decriminalise homosexuality.
…and Asia had begun to decriminalise homosexuality by the mid 20th…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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