lawful

[ law-fuhl ]

/ ˈlɔ fəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lawful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

allowed or permitted by law; not contrary to law: a lawful enterprise.

recognized or sanctioned by law; legitimate: a lawful marriage; a lawful heir.

appointed or recognized by law; legally qualified: a lawful king.

acting or living according to the law; law-abiding: a lawful man; a lawful community.

Nearby words

law-hand, lawbook, lawbreaker, lawes, lawfare, lawful, lawgiver, lawin, lawing, lawks, lawless

Origin of lawful

First recorded in 1250–1300, lawful is from the Middle English word laghful. See law¹, -ful

SYNONYMS FOR lawful

1 legal.

2 licit.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lawful ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

law·ful·ly, adverblaw·ful·ness, nounpre·law·ful, adjectivepre·law·ful·ly, adverb

pre·law·ful·ness, nounqua·si-law·ful, adjectivequa·si-law·ful·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lawful

It also makes the lawful carry of a firearm difficult during warmer months in Texas.
A Gun Owner Speaks: My Case for Open Carry|CJ Grisham|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because, they argued, any activity that is “unlawful” under federal law could not by definition be “lawful” under state law.
Could You Lose Your Job for Smoking Legal Pot?|Andrew Cohen|January 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“All lawful modes of expressing opposition ... had been closed by legislation,” he told the court.
Mandela: The Miracle Maker|Sam Seibert|December 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The arms protected, he wrote, were those that are in common use for lawful purposes, like handguns.
Justice Scalia Goes Gun Crazy|Adam Winkler|August 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Any intentional use of lethal force is only lawful where strictly necessary in response to a truly imminent threat to life.
Neocon Scholar: Keep Bloodying The Brotherhood|Ali Gharib|August 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law.
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians|Martin Luther
"There is the token that I was a lawful wife; and there, also, a memorial that I was a—" She paused.
The Fortunes of Hector O'Halloran, And His Man Mark Antony O'Toole|W. H. Maxwell
Inability to compel payment of wages in cash; so that employer may pay in truck or scrip not redeemable in lawful money.
Ethics|John Dewey and James Hayden Tufts
So they went to Father Zeus and prayed that it might be lawful to them to stop him in his fury.
Stories of the Old world|Alfred John Church
He commended her body, and discoursed that for all he knew the thing was lawful.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete|Samuel Pepys

British Dictionary definitions for lawful

lawful

/ (ˈlɔːfʊl) /

adjective

allowed, recognized, or sanctioned by law; legal

Derived Forms

lawfully, adverblawfulness, 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

lawful

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of lawful

SYNONYMS FOR lawful

Related forms

Examples from the Web for lawful

British Dictionary definitions for lawful

lawful

adjective

Derived Forms