| Library / English Dictionary |
UNLAWFUL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law
Example:
unlawful hunters
Classified under:
Similar:
lawless; outlaw (disobedient to or defiant of law)
lawless; wide-open (lax in enforcing laws)
wrongful (unlawfully violating the rights of others)
Also:
illegal (prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules)
corrupt; crooked (not straight; dishonest or immoral or evasive)
Attribute:
lawfulness (the quality of conforming to law)
Antonym:
lawful (conformable to or allowed by law)
Derivation:
unlawfulness (the quality of failing to conform to law)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Contrary to or forbidden by law
Example:
unlawful measures
Synonyms:
illegitimate; illicit; outlaw; outlawed; unlawful
Classified under:
Similar:
illegal (prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules)
Derivation:
unlawfulness (the quality of failing to conform to law)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having no legally established claim
Example:
the wrongful heir to the throne
Synonyms:
unlawful; wrongful
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
illegitimate (of marriages and offspring; not recognized as lawful)
Derivation:
unlawfulness (the quality of failing to conform to law)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not morally right or permissible
Example:
unlawful love
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
illicit (contrary to accepted morality (especially sexual morality) or convention)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention
Example:
improper banking practices
Synonyms:
improper; unconventional; unlawful
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
irregular (contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice)
Derivation:
unlawfulness (the quality of failing to conform to law)
