Meanings
verbdefelonize (third-person singular simple present defelonizes, present participle defelonizing, simple past and past participle defelonized)
present singular third person defelonizes · participle present defelonizing · participle past defelonized · past defelonized
- transitiveTo reduce the status of (a crime) such that it is no longer a felony.
His solution, however, was not to reform sentencing laws or decriminalize or defelonize nonviolent crimes, […]
2011, Elana Zilberg, Space of Detention, Duke University Press, →ISBN, page 248
Origin
From de- + felon + -ize, apparently on the model of decriminalize.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
defelonize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defelonize
MLA
“defelonize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defelonize. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “defelonize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defelonize.
Source: defelonize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.