lawless
Americanadjective
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contrary to or without regard for the law.
lawless violence.
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being without law; uncontrolled by a law; unbridled; unruly; unrestrained.
lawless passion.
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illegal.
bootleggers' lawless activity.
adjective
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without law
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disobedient to the law
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contrary to or heedless of the law
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uncontrolled; unbridled
lawless rage
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lawless
First recorded in 1150–1200; from Middle English laweles; see law 1, -less
Explanation
A lawless society is one without any rules or order. In some respects, the Old West era of the U.S. was a lawless time. When you think of old-timey saloons and sheriffs and cowboys, you probably envision lawless bandits riding boldly into town — in other words, criminals accustomed to making their own rules, rather than following any established laws. A lawless city today is one that's in such chaos that order can't be kept, even by police officers. To be lawless is to be without law, which stems from the Old English lagu, "law or rule."
Vocabulary lists containing lawless
Fear and Loathing in Cleveland: Trump's RNC Acceptance Speech
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Way Off: Synonyms for "Wrong"
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Wrong
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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.
Besides, though the presence of armed vigilantes helped many in town feel safer, the fact remained that much of Michoacán was still lawless.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
He said: "This lawless gang chaos should never have been allowed to take root in the first place."
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Venezuela has launched a U.S.-backed military campaign to target criminal groups in a lawless gold-mining region as it seeks to open the area to American investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
What she’s targeting is the lawless underlying subpoena, saying it was unenforceable to begin with.
From Slate ● May 18, 2026
The borderlands—as this region was known—were remote and lawless territories that had been fought over for hundreds of years.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
