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unlawful

unlawful

71 4.0
Not allowed by law
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈlɔːfəl/
translation icon : ilegal
  • It's unlawful to operate a motor vehicle without a license.
  • an unlawful act
  • unlawful conduct
  • unlawful activity

Age is not actually or it wasn't unlawful to photograph under sixteens.

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Examples

  • Religious discrimination is, of course, unlawful in Northern Ireland, but racial discrimination is not.

    Academic text (1997)
  • This is an unlawful assembly.

  • Michael was arrested for unlawful taking.

  • You make a secret plan to commit unlawful acts.

  • Some face charges of unlawful entry, to which they pleaded not guilty this week.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Under Department W provisions, it is unlawful to kill a worker without just cause.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • This is unlawful trespass, you know.

  • This was just a corrupt and unlawful way to capitalize on a broken system.

  • No Hong Kong resident shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful arrest, detention, or imprisonment.

    Academic text (1990)
  • It's unlawful to operate a motor vehicle without a license.

Synonyms

illegal
vsunlawful
1.0

Not allowed by law or official rules

also covers actions seen as improper or not morally acceptable
unauthorized
vsunlawful
  • US
110 4.5

Not officially allowed to do something

can also mean something is against the law or morally wrong, not just lacking permission
forbidden
vsunlawful
96 3.2

Not allowed by law, rules, or custom

often adds the sense of being improper, not only banned by rules
illicit
vsunlawful
66 6.3

Not allowed by law or social rules

is focused on legal or improper status rather than social manners
wrongful
vsunlawful
  • Specialized
59 4.6

Not allowed by law or not fair to others

focuses more on being forbidden by law rather than only moral unfairness
illegitimate
vsunlawful
  • Formal
31 6.1

Not allowed by law

can also apply to actions that are improper beyond statutes
verboten
vsunlawful
7 9.2

Not allowed by rules or by social custom

focuses more on legal and improper status than on custom
impermissible
vsunlawful
  • Formal
6 7.7

Not allowed by rules, laws, or official standards

is more general and can include actions seen as improper beyond rules
prohibited
vsunlawful
  • Formal
1 3.7

Not allowed by law or by an authority

can also mean something seen as improper rather than only official rule
unallowable
vsunlawful
  • Formal
1 6.4

Not allowed by rules or laws

is similar but also covers acts judged improper or morally wrong
outlawed
vsunlawful
5.0

The law bans it

also covers acts that are improper or not socially acceptable
proscribed
vsunlawful
  • Formal
8.2

Not allowed by law or by people in charge

is broader, including things that are merely improper rather than strictly official bans
banned
vsunlawful
1.1

Not allowed by law or by people in charge

can also describe acts considered improper, not only those officially forbidden

Antonyms

lawful
  • Formal
82 2.9

Allowed by the law

Compounds

Sex that the law says is illegal

How Lawful

lawful
  • Formal
82 2.9
legitimate
602 4.2
unlawful
71 4.0
illegal
1.0
lawless
29 4.9

Surface Forms

unlawful positive
unlawfull positive

Morphology

unlawful = lawful (transparent) = un + law + ful

The adjective 'lawful' (law + -ful) is a transparent base and the prefix 'un-' straightforwardly negates it to mean 'not permitted by law'.

Etymology

Unlawful comes from the simple prefix un- meaning 'not' and lawful, which comes from law, meaning the rules of a country. So unlawful means 'not allowed by law'.