adjective
-
illegal
-
illicit; immoral
unlawful love
-
an archaic word for illegitimate
Related Words
See illegal.
Other Word Forms
- unlawfully adverb
- unlawfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of unlawful
First recorded in 1250–1300, unlawful is from the Middle English word unlaweful. See un- 1, lawful
Compare meaning
How does unlawful compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
In her lawsuit, she alleged “such conduct constitutes unlawful and unethical behavior for attorneys.”
From Los Angeles Times
A judge in November ruled the Portland deployment unlawful and ordered it permanently blocked.
From Barron's
He developed a legal theory that justifies ignoring what he refers to as “unlawful orders” after witnessing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
From Salon
More work needs to be done to not just prevent future cases, Sanders said, but to bring justice to all past defendants whose cases were infected by the unlawful use of informants.
From Los Angeles Times
The Workers Fraud Protection Act, which takes effect Jan. 1, makes it “unlawful to falsely impersonate a union representative” and imposes punitive fines.
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.
