outlaw
Americannoun
-
a lawless person or habitual criminal, especially one who is a fugitive from the law.
-
a person, group, or thing excluded from the benefits and protection of the law.
-
a person under sentence of outlawry.
-
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.
-
Chiefly Western U.S.
-
a horse that cannot be broken; a mean, intractable horse.
-
any rogue animal.
-
verb (used with object)
-
to make unlawful or illegal.
The Eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages in the U.S.
-
to deprive of the benefits and protection of the law.
Members of guerrilla bands who refused to surrender were outlawed.
-
to prohibit.
to outlaw smoking in a theater.
-
to remove from legal jurisdiction; deprive of legal force.
adjective
noun
-
(formerly) a person excluded from the law and deprived of its protection
-
any fugitive from the law, esp a habitual transgressor
-
a wild or untamed beast
verb
-
to put (a person) outside the law and deprive of its protection
-
(in the US) to deprive (a contract) of legal force
-
to ban
Other Word Forms
- self-outlaw noun
- self-outlawed adjective
- unoutlawed adjective
Etymology
Origin of outlaw
before 1150; Middle English outlawe, Old English ūtlaga < Old Norse ūtlagi one outside the protection of the law; out, law 1
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.
At times, the panic it induced in opposition defences - who were still getting to grips with 2024 law tweaks outlawing deliberate blocking of chasers - was even relished.
From BBC
A longtime critic, she believes this war may be a "turning point" for Hezbollah, whose military activities were outlawed by the government last week.
From Barron's
In one scene, the Bride is the most famous outlaw in America; in the next, a cop doesn’t recognize her at all.
From Los Angeles Times
A vote to outlaw such incoming loans just for the 2024 winter transfer window was narrowly defeated.
From BBC
She was sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity by a court in Dhaka in November, and her former ruling party, once the country's most popular, has been outlawed.
From Barron's
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.
