outlaw

[ out-law ]

noun

1. a lawless person or habitual criminal, especially one who is a fugitive from the law.

   Synonyms: brigand, bandit, desperado

2. a person, group, or thing excluded from the benefits and protection of the law.
3. a person under sentence of outlawry.
4. a person who refuses to be governed by the established rules or practices of any group; rebel; nonconformist:

   one of the outlaws of country music.

5. Chiefly Western U.S.
   1. a horse that cannot be broken; a mean, intractable horse.
   2. any rogue animal.

verb (used with object)

1. to make unlawful or illegal:

   The Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages in the U.S.

2. to deprive of the benefits and protection of the law:

   Members of guerrilla bands who refused to surrender were outlawed.

3. to prohibit:

   to outlaw smoking in a theater.

   Synonyms: forbid, ban, proscribe

4. to remove from legal jurisdiction; deprive of legal force.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of an outlaw.

outlaw

/ ˈaʊtˌlɔː /

noun

1. (formerly) a person excluded from the law and deprived of its protection
2. any fugitive from the law, esp a habitual transgressor
3. a wild or untamed beast

verb

1. to put (a person) outside the law and deprive of its protection
2. (in the US) to deprive (a contract) of legal force
3. to ban

Other Words From

• self-outlaw noun
• self-outlawed adjective
• un·outlawed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of outlaw¹

before 1150; Middle English outlawe, Old English ūtlaga < Old Norse ūtlagi one outside the protection of the law; out, law ¹

Example Sentences

Added Outlaw: "Just because you're at the beach doesn't mean you can't blow our minds."

From The Daily Beast

And yet, no one in Rio is calling for the end of the campaign to reclaim the outlaw zones of the city.

From The Daily Beast

The outlaw had a long white beard and looked like an intense Willie Nelson.

From The Daily Beast

I first learned about the environmental dangers of growing pot from an old outlaw.

From The Daily Beast

Many court watchers were expecting the justices to outlaw or seriously curtail all uses of race by government actors.

From The Daily Beast

Before the outlaw can comply with this small request the horn sounds again.

From Project Gutenberg

In the meantime, the outlaw, having observed how much more cordially the tyrant is received than himself, has made his exit.

From Project Gutenberg

But a little earlier still, to be an Infidel was to be an outlaw, subject to the penalty of death.

From Project Gutenberg

He was an outlaw, hunted and despised, depending for his life on the caprice of a fickle-minded woman.

From Project Gutenberg

You know I am one of those illustrious unfortunates whom governments outlaw.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ban
• bar
• condemn
• disallow
• exclude
• forbid
• prevent
• proscribe