lawful

[law-fuhl]

adjective

1. allowed or permitted by law; not contrary to law.

   a lawful enterprise.

   Synonyms: legal

2. recognized or sanctioned by law; legitimate.

   a lawful marriage; a lawful heir.

   Synonyms: licit

3. appointed or recognized by law; legally qualified.

   a lawful king.

4. acting or living according to the law; law-abiding.

   a lawful man; a lawful community.

lawful

/ ˈlɔːfʊl /

adjective

1. allowed, recognized, or sanctioned by law; legal

Other Word Forms

• lawfully adverb
• lawfulness noun
• prelawful adjective
• prelawfully adverb
• prelawfulness noun
• quasi-lawful adjective
• quasi-lawfully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawful¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, lawful is from the Middle English word laghful. See law ¹, -ful

Example Sentences

The administration maintains that its immigration enforcement operations are legitimate and necessary, portraying agents as professionals carrying out lawful duties rather than as figures worthy of mockery or resistance.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The state is making lawful, transparent budget choices to invest in health coverage with its own dollars,” Ramos-Yamamoto said in a statement to The Times.

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Israel said its navy had told the boats to change course as they were "approaching an active combat zone and violating a lawful naval blockade", while the GSF said the interceptions were "illegal".

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Bill Essayli from his post, arguing that the top federal prosecutor for Southern California has “no such lawful authority” because he’s yet to be officially confirmed by the U.S.

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They previously wrote to the BBC saying they have evidence "Paloma died as a result of medical interventions given without confirmed diagnosis or lawful consent".

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Related Words

• authorized 
• constitutional 
• justifiable 
• legal 
• permissible 
• proper 
• rightful 
• statutory 
• valid