to constitutionalize
1
9.5
- verb
- /ˌkɒnstɪˈtjuːʃənəlaɪz/
- Formal
- The Framers chose to constitutionalize equality, not a particular list of practices that they thought were inconsistent with equality.
- seek to constitutionalize
Examples
-
Congress constitutionalized its Civil Rights Act of 1866 through the Fourteenth Amendment.
-
Courts can use general welfare, therefore, as a "catchall" to constitutionalize otherwise invalid purposes.
Academic text (2001) -
This fear led the supporters of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to try to constitutionalize the act.
Academic text (2017) -
And it is doing so by using the First Amendment as a weapon, seeking to constitutionalize potentially fraudulent speech.
Academic text (2017) -
Don't constitutionalize issues where federalism has a chance to work.
Blog text (3) -
If it passes, it will constitutionalize the Regents' prohibition against racial and gender preferences, not just at the University of California, but in other important public arenas as well.
Academic text (1996) -
To sum up, in the constitutionalist view, the framers sought to "constitutionalize republicanism" (Mansfield 1987).
Academic text (1991) -
The Framers chose to constitutionalize equality, not a particular list of practices that they thought were inconsistent with equality.
-
This fear led the supporters of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to try to constitutionalize the act.
Surface Forms
Morphology
constitutionalize = constitutional (transparent) = constitution + al + ize
The verb is a regular derivation from the adjective 'constitutional' by adding '-ize', producing 'to make or give a constitution', which is straightforward for learners.
Etymology
Constitutionalize comes from the word constitution, which originally meant 'to set up' or 'the main rules for a country'. So, to constitutionalize something is to put it into that main set of rules, making it official and part of the constitution.