lawless

[ law-lis ]
See synonyms for lawless on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. contrary to or without regard for the law: lawless violence.

  2. being without law; uncontrolled by a law; unbridled; unruly; unrestrained: lawless passion.

  1. illegal: bootleggers' lawless activity.

Origin of lawless

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; from Middle English laweles; see law1, -less

Other words from lawless

  • law·less·ly, adverb
  • law·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lawless in a sentence

  • The prisoner had lawlessly converted her, the property of another, to his own base uses.

  • Only the Earl and his daughter had come off their P's and Q's, most lawlessly.

    When Ghost Meets Ghost | William Frend De Morgan
  • Supposing, in the old days, he had proceeded to reach for Molly as he was now reaching for the emeralds—a bit lawlessly?

    The Drums Of Jeopardy | Harold MacGrath
  • I realized, without alarm, that he was driving furiously and lawlessly, and I did not care.

  • She had been staring instead at the girl's hair—staring and wondering lawlessly.

    The Wrong Twin | Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for lawless

lawless

/ (ˈlɔːlɪs) /


adjective
  1. without law

  2. disobedient to the law

  1. contrary to or heedless of the law

  2. uncontrolled; unbridled: lawless rage

Derived forms of lawless

  • lawlessly, adverb
  • lawlessness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012