legal

[ lee-guhl ]

/ ˈli gəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR legal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

permitted by law; lawful: Such acts are not legal.

of or relating to law; connected with the law or its administration: the legal profession.

appointed, established, or authorized by law; deriving authority from law.

recognized by law rather than by equity.

of, relating to, or characteristic of the profession of law or of lawyers: a legal mind.

Theology.

of or relating to the Mosaic Law.
of or relating to the doctrine that salvation is gained by good works rather than through free grace.

noun

a person who acts in a legal manner or with legal authority.

an alien who has entered a country legally.

a person whose status is protected by law.

a fish or game animal, within specified size or weight limitations, that the law allows to be caught and kept during an appropriate season.

a foreigner who conducts espionage against a host country while working there in a legitimate capacity, often in the diplomatic service.

legals, authorized investments that may be made by fiduciaries, as savings banks or trustees.

Nearby words

leg-break, leg-of-mutton, leg-pull, leg., legacy, legal, legal age, legal aid, legal aid society, legal blindness, legal cap

Origin of legal

1490–1500; < Latin lēgālis of the law, equivalent to lēg- (stem of lēx) law + -ālis -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR legal

3 licit, legitimate, sanctioned.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR legal ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

le·gal·ly, adverbpost·le·gal, adjectivepre·le·gal, adjectivepseu·do·le·gal, adjective

qua·si-le·gal, adjectivequa·si-le·gal·ly, adverbun·le·gal, adjectiveun·le·gal·ly, adverbun·le·gal·ness, noun

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

Examples from the Web for legally

In our headlong quest for a legally perfect society, we don’t take the time to take stock of what‘s been created so far.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Interestingly, if Grimm is expelled, he is not legally prohibited from running in the special election for his seat.
The Felon Who Wouldn’t Leave Congress|Ben Jacobs, David Freedlander|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The two girls were legally emancipated and returned to the Covington household.
Beaten By His Church for Being Gay|Justin Jones|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Administration lawyers also approved the "enhanced interrogation techniques" and said they were legally permissible.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Dec. 14|PunditFact.com|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Because you were covering up for actions that may or may not have been legally authorized.
After Torture Report, Our Moral Authority As a Nation Is Gone|Nick Gillespie|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From Kennicott she discovered that it was legally organized with a mayor and city-council and wards.
Main Street|Sinclair Lewis
And according to canon and statute law they were legally married, nor could anything short of a divorce part them again.
Earl Hubert's Daughter|Emily Sarah Holt
Are we to include works written by authors then legally residents of the state, afterwards citizens of other states?
Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Volume I (of 14)|Mississippi Historical Society
A concubine may be a woman who has a defined and legally guaranteed relation to one man, if the mores have so determined.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner
However that may have been, Mr. Egan seems to me now to have had legally much the advantage of Mrs. Lewis.
Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (2 of 2) (1888)|William Henry Hurlbert

British Dictionary definitions for legally

legal

/ (ˈliːɡəl) /

adjective

established by or founded upon law; lawful

of or relating to law

recognized, enforceable, or having a remedy at law rather than in equity

relating to or characteristic of the profession of law

Derived Forms

legally, adverb

Word Origin for legal

C16: from Latin lēgālis, from lēx law

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