adjective
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illegal
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illicit; immoral
unlawful love
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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.
“If you try to carry out dominance to mean exclusion of others, that is absolutely unlawful under international law,” Harrington said.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
"We're grateful the court recognized these issues need to be resolved quickly and remain confident the courts will ultimately agree that these supply chain designations were unlawful," an Anthropic spokesperson told AFP.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
Her lawsuit, filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of California, seeks damages for violations of federal civil rights and state law, including false arrest, unlawful search and seizure, and defamation.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
The judge said Tuesday that claims of unlawful interference in the CPB were now moot, since the body no longer exists.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
The play on words here depends on ‘fact’ being both a synonym for ‘deed’ and ‘act’ but also a word used specifically for unlawful deeds and acts.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
