unconstitutional
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unconstitutional
First recorded in 1735–45; un- 1 + constitutional
Explanation
When someone protests an action on the part of the government by saying, "That's vile! That's wrong! That's downright unconstitutional!," they're saying that the action violates the tenets of the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is our nation's founding document, laying out a structure for the executive, judicial, and legislative powers, and assigning to people specific rights, such privacy, free speech, and voting. Violations of the Constitution are the highest forms of illegality in our nation, though famously hard to nail down.
Vocabulary lists containing unconstitutional
Twelve Days in May
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Lincoln Inaugural Address (March 1861)
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Unconstitutional conditions doctrine has been notoriously opaque, convoluted, and inconsistent, even when the court was less conservative.
From Slate • Jul. 29, 2025
"This is awful. Outrageous. Unconstitutional," Kerry Washington wrote.
From Fox News • May 16, 2019
Netflix aired a taped special of "Unconstitutional" this month.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2015
Unconstitutional crimes are incredibly time-consuming and expensive to strike down in court, and until they are struck down, they can chill a lot of entrepreneurial behavior.
From Forbes • Jun. 27, 2013
He was warrantably its usher when the habitual interrupter bawled his stereotyped: "Unconstitutional!"
From The Lincoln Story Book A Judicious Collection of the Best Stories and Anecdotes of the Great President, Many Appearing Here for the First Time in Book Form by Williams, Henry Llewellyn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
