outlaw

[out-law]

noun

1. a lawless person or habitual criminal, especially one who is a fugitive from the law.

   Synonyms: brigand, bandit, desperado

2. a person, group, or thing excluded from the benefits and protection of the law.

3. a person under sentence of outlawry.

4. a person who refuses to be governed by the established rules or practices of any group; rebel; nonconformist.

   one of the outlaws of country music.

5. Chiefly Western U.S.

   1. a horse that cannot be broken; a mean, intractable horse.

   2. any rogue animal.

verb (used with object)

1. to make unlawful or illegal.

   The Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages in the U.S.

2. to deprive of the benefits and protection of the law.

   Members of guerrilla bands who refused to surrender were outlawed.

3. to prohibit.

   to outlaw smoking in a theater.

   Synonyms: forbid, ban, proscribe

4. to remove from legal jurisdiction; deprive of legal force.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of an outlaw.

outlaw

/ ˈaʊtˌlɔː /

noun

1. (formerly) a person excluded from the law and deprived of its protection

2. any fugitive from the law, esp a habitual transgressor

3. a wild or untamed beast

verb

1. to put (a person) outside the law and deprive of its protection

2. (in the US) to deprive (a contract) of legal force

3. to ban

Other Word Forms

• self-outlaw noun
• self-outlawed adjective
• unoutlawed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of outlaw¹

before 1150; Middle English outlawe, Old English ūtlaga < Old Norse ūtlagi one outside the protection of the law; out, law ¹

Example Sentences

The payment of ransoms has been outlawed in an attempt to cut the supply of money to the criminal gangs, but to little effect.

Read more on BBC

The payment of ransoms has been outlawed in an attempt to cut the supply of money to the criminal gangs, but it has had little effect.

Read more on BBC

The payment of ransoms has been outlawed in an attempt to cut the supply of money to the criminal gangs - but this has had little effect.

Read more on BBC

The government has announced legislation to outlaw the sale of tickets to sports events at inflated prices - but it's not good news for football fans.

Read more on BBC

We can’t outlaw hatred, but we can demand responsibility from those who profit from fueling anger and division.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bandit 
• crook 
• desperado 
• fugitive 
• gangster 
• hoodlum 
• hooligan 
• marauder 
• mobster 
• outcast 
• pariah 
• robber