Lawful — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

conformable to or allowed by law

according to custom or rule or natural law

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/lˈɔːfəl/

🇬🇧British English

/lˈɔːfəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/lˈɔːfəl/

2 syllables Say it as /lˈɔːfəl/.

Examples

lawful methods of dissent
the legitimate heir
the true and lawful king

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

true rule-governed licit legitimate rightful

Antonyms

unlawful

Parts of Speech

adjective	conformable to or allowed by law “lawful methods of dissent”
adjective	according to custom or rule or natural law
adjective	having a legally established claim “the legitimate heir”
adjective	authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law “a legitimate government”

Word Forms

lawfulness	noun	the quality of conforming to law
rightfulness	noun	anything in accord with principles of justice
licitness	noun	the quality of strictly conforming to law

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

rechtmäßig

konform oder gesetzlich zulässig ist

🇫🇷French

légitime

conforme ou autorisé par la loi

🇪🇸Spanish

legal

conforme o permitido por la ley

🇮🇹Italian

lecito

conforme o consentito dalla legge

🇳🇱Dutch

wettig

conform of toegestaan door de wet

🇵🇹Portuguese

legal

conforme ou permitido por lei

🇷🇺Russian

законный

соответствует или разрешено законом

India

🇮🇳Hindi

क़ानूनी

कानून के अनुरूप या अनुमति प्राप्त

🇧🇩Bengali

বৈধ

আইন অনুসারে বা অনুমোদিত

🇮🇳Tamil

சட்டபூர்வமான

சட்டத்திற்கு இணங்க அல்லது அனுமதிக்கப்படுகிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

చట్టబద్ధమైన

చట్టానికి అనుగుణంగా లేదా అనుమతించబడినది

🇮🇳Marathi

कायदेशीर

कायद्यानुसार किंवा अनुमत

🇮🇳Gujarati

કાયદેસર

કાયદાને અનુરૂપ અથવા માન્ય

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಾನೂನುಬದ್ಧ

ಕಾನೂನಿನಿಂದ ಅನುರೂಪವಾಗಿದೆ ಅಥವಾ ಅನುಮತಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിയമാനുസൃതം

നിയമം അനുശാസിക്കുന്നതോ അനുവദനീയമായതോ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ

ਦੇ ਅਨੁਕੂਲ ਜਾਂ ਕਾਨੂੰਨ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਆਗਿਆ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

جائز

قانون کے مطابق یا اس کی اجازت

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

合法的

符合法律或法律允许

🇯🇵Japanese

合法的な

法律に準拠している、または法律で許可されている

🇰🇷Korean

적법한

법률에 부합하거나 허용되는

🇻🇳Vietnamese

hợp pháp

phù hợp với hoặc được pháp luật cho phép

🇹🇭Thai

ถูกกฎหมาย

เป็นไปตามหรือได้รับอนุญาตตามกฎหมาย

🇮🇩Indonesian

sah

sesuai atau diizinkan oleh hukum

🇵🇭Filipino

ayon sa batas

naaayon o pinapayagan ng batas

🇲🇾Malay

halal

mematuhi atau dibenarkan oleh undang-undang

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

قانوني

مطابق للقانون أو مسموح به

🇮🇷Persian

حلال

مطابق با قانون یا مجاز است

🇹🇷Turkish

yasal

yasalara uygun veya yasalarca izin verilen

🇮🇱Hebrew

חוּקִי

תואם או מותר על פי חוק

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'lawful'?

The primary meaning of 'lawful' is 'conformable to or allowed by law'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'lawful' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'lawful' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'lawful' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'lawful' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'lawful' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'lawful' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'lawful' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'lawful' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'lawful' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

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Never

Would you classify 'lawful' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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