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lawlessness

lawlessness

22 6.5
People do not follow laws and order breaks down
  • noun
  • /ˈlɔːləsnəs/
translation icon : anarquía
  • After the police were withdrawn, lawlessness reigned in the city, leaving residents feeling unsafe.
  • violence and lawlessness
  • rampant lawlessness
  • corruption and lawlessness

And I have to say, I've had enough of the lawlessness and the disrespect of our country.

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Examples

  • Three factors, all intertwined, came together to push Colombia to the brink of complete lawlessness.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The Sonora Desert and the northern border towns have long been infamous for their lawlessness.

    Academic text (2012)
  • You see, well, the lawlessness that you guys were trying to keep out of here, and now it's right here within.

  • It's, it's complete chaos and lawlessness and, and just, it's sad.

  • In my opinion, they should be removed for their lawlessness regarding fiscal responsibility.

    Blog text (5)
  • Obviously this lawlessness breeds other lawlessness.

  • Day after day... ...crime, lawlessness and evil are running rampant.

  • Let it be known from this day forth that lawlessness will not be tolerated.

  • We tolerated lawlessness in the land until it grew to diabolical proportions.

  • The most obvious manifestation of these distortions was rampant lawlessness and the loss of great numbers of lives.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

anarchy
vslawlessness
79 6.5

A situation with no government and much disorder

is a wider condition where rules are not enforced producing disorder
disobedience
vslawlessness
55 4.2

Refusing to obey rules or people in charge

is a wider social state where rules are ignored and chaos can follow
law-breaking
vslawlessness
4 3.7

Doing things that are illegal

is the overall situation where rules are not obeyed or enforced
lawbreaking
vslawlessness
3 3.8

An action that does not follow the law

is the overall situation where rules are not obeyed or enforced
unlawfulness
vslawlessness
  • Formal
1 6.8

Not following the law

is the broader social breakdown when rules are widely ignored and unenforced
unruliness
vslawlessness
1 7.2

A tendency to be difficult to control and to disobey rules

is broader, describing when rules are generally not obeyed or enforced
disorderliness
vslawlessness
6.0

Noisy actions by people who do not follow rules or order

is the larger condition where rules fail to be followed and enforced

Antonyms

505 1.5

A state where people follow rules and behave calmly

lawfulness
  • Formal
1 4.7

Being allowed by law

How Lawless

anarchy
79 6.5
chaos
438 3.1
lawlessness
22 6.5
compliance
171 5.0
lawfulness
  • Formal
1 4.7

Surface Forms

lawlessness singular
lawlessnesses plural

Morphology

lawlessness = lawless (transparent) = law + less + ness

Built by straightforward nominalization of 'lawless' with '-ness'; 'lawless' itself is transparently 'law' + '-less'.

Etymology

The word lawlessness is made from law meaning 'rules', -less meaning 'without' as in homeless, and -ness which turns it into a noun. So lawlessness is the state of being 'without law', which is why it means 'disorder' or 'chaos'.