“Legalizing” or “Legalising”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 6 prefer “legalizing” and 4 prefer “legalising”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	legalizing	legalising	Preference
United States	99	1	“legalizing”
United Kingdom	26	74	“legalising”
India	53	47	“legalizing”
Philippines	100	0	“legalizing”
Canada	96	4	“legalizing”
Australia	25	75	“legalising”
Liberia	0	0	Not enough data
Ireland	48	52	“legalising”
New Zealand	34	66	“legalising”
Jamaica	100	0	“legalizing”
Trinidad & Tobago	100	0	“legalizing”
Guyana	0	0	Not enough data

Usage

Examples in context

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

“legalizing”

…in 10 city residents supported legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana.
…2012, as the debate over legalizing gay marriage in France became…
"The 'Chords of Love': Legalizing Black Marital and Family Rights…
…Spanish economists found that upon legalizing the undocumented immigrant population in…
…the House of LD 1020, legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine.
…communities has passed local ordinances legalizing the use of ATVs on…
…proposals and state ballot referenda legalizing gambling went down to defeat…
Legalizing of 201 different personal business
…the Vietnamese government is considering legalizing same-sex marriage, but it's unclear…
…the law was enacted from legalizing it, violated the anti-commandeering doctrine…

“legalising”

…homosexuality to bestiality, claiming that legalising same-sex marriage might enable marriage…
…pro bono services to aid legalising the building.
…both for his opposition to legalising cannabis and his stance on…
…abortion reform in Northern Ireland, legalising cannabis, increasing the number of…
…response, the RRAAM argued that legalising medical abortion pills would curb…
…public support in favour of legalising assisted dying.
…to vote against a bill legalising off-course gambling.
…passing of the in 1950 legalising commercial and private broadcasting, The…
Legalising slot machines
…personal use, as well as legalising cannabis for medical use.

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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