legalistic

British

/ ˌliːɡəˈlɪstɪk /

adjective

of, relating to, or exhibiting strict adherence to the law, esp to the letter of the law rather than its spirit

"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

Other Word Forms

legalistically

adverb

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

legalistic

Instead, the justices spent the hearing as they customarily do, engaged in a complex and legalistic discussion about how to analyze ambiguous text and how to weigh historical evidence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

Ensign, the DOJ lawyer, tried to distract Boasberg with legalistic arguments claiming that it had not technically violated his commands.

From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2025

The retired brass and veterans organizations added emotionally charged addenda to that legalistic document.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025

Thomas said the process of compensation was getting faster, and being made "less legalistic, less adversarial".

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025

Don’t be picky or legalistic as to where its paw actually landed.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023