Unlawful — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention

contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ʌnlˈɔːfəl/

🇬🇧British English

/ʌnlˈɔːfəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ʌnlˈɔːfəl/

3 syllables Say it as /ʌnlˈɔːfəl/.

Examples

an unconventional marriage
improper banking practices
unlawful measures

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

wrongful illegitimate outlawed illicit outlaw improper unconventional

Antonyms

lawful

Parts of Speech

adjective	not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention “an unconventional marriage”
adjective	contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law “unlawful measures”
adjective	not morally right or permissible “unlawful love”
adjective	having no legally established claim “the wrongful heir to the throne”
adjective	contrary to or forbidden by law “an illegitimate seizure of power”

Word Forms

improperness	noun	an improper demeanor
unconventionality	noun	unorthodoxy by virtue of being unconventional
unlawfulness	noun	the quality of failing to conform to law
wrongfulness	noun	that which is contrary to the principles of justice or law
illicitness	noun	the quality of not conforming strictly to law
outlaw	noun	someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

rechtswidrig

nicht der Legalität, dem Moralgesetz oder gesellschaftlichen Konventionen entsprechen

🇫🇷French

illicite

non conforme à la légalité, à la loi morale ou aux conventions sociales

🇪🇸Spanish

ilegal

no conforme a la legalidad, la ley moral o la convención social

🇮🇹Italian

illegale

non conforme alla legalità, alla legge morale o alle convenzioni sociali

🇳🇱Dutch

onrechtmatig

niet in overeenstemming met de wettigheid, morele wetten of sociale conventies

🇵🇹Portuguese

ilegal

não estar em conformidade com a legalidade, lei moral ou convenção social

🇷🇺Russian

незаконный

не соответствующее законности, моральному закону или социальной конвенции

India

🇮🇳Hindi

ग़ैरक़ानूनी

वैधता, नैतिक कानून, या सामाजिक परंपरा के अनुरूप नहीं

🇧🇩Bengali

বেআইনি

বৈধতা, নৈতিক আইন বা সামাজিক কনভেনশনের সাথে সঙ্গতিপূর্ণ নয়

🇮🇳Tamil

சட்டவிரோதமானது

சட்டம், தார்மீக சட்டம் அல்லது சமூக மரபுக்கு இணங்கவில்லை

🇮🇳Telugu

చట్టవిరుద్ధం

చట్టబద్ధత, నైతిక చట్టం లేదా సామాజిక సమావేశానికి అనుగుణంగా లేదు

🇮🇳Marathi

बेकायदेशीर

कायदेशीरपणा, नैतिक कायदा किंवा सामाजिक अधिवेशनाशी सुसंगत नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

ગેરકાયદે

કાયદેસરતા, નૈતિક કાયદો અથવા સામાજિક સંમેલનને અનુરૂપ નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕಾನೂನುಬಾಹಿರ

ಕಾನೂನುಬದ್ಧತೆ, ನೈತಿಕ ಕಾನೂನು ಅಥವಾ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಅನುಗುಣವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിയമവിരുദ്ധമായ

നിയമസാധുത, ധാർമ്മിക നിയമം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ സാമൂഹിക കൺവെൻഷൻ എന്നിവയുമായി പൊരുത്തപ്പെടുന്നില്ല

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਗੈਰ-ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ

ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀਤਾ, ਨੈਤਿਕ ਕਾਨੂੰਨ, ਜਾਂ ਸਮਾਜਿਕ ਸੰਮੇਲਨ ਦੇ ਅਨੁਕੂਲ ਨਹੀਂ

🇵🇰Urdu

غیر قانونی

قانونی، اخلاقی قانون، یا سماجی کنونشن کے مطابق نہیں ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

非法的

不符合合法性、道德法则或社会习俗

🇯🇵Japanese

違法な

合法性、道徳法、または社会的慣習に準拠していない

🇰🇷Korean

불법적인

합법성, 도덕법, 사회적 관습에 따르지 않는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bất hợp pháp

không phù hợp với pháp luật, đạo đức hoặc quy ước xã hội

🇹🇭Thai

ผิดกฎหมาย

ไม่เป็นไปตามกฎหมาย กฎศีลธรรม หรือระเบียบสังคม

🇮🇩Indonesian

melanggar hukum

tidak sesuai dengan legalitas, hukum moral, atau konvensi sosial

🇵🇭Filipino

labag sa batas

hindi umaayon sa legalidad, moral na batas, o social convention

🇲🇾Malay

menyalahi undang-undang

tidak mematuhi undang-undang, undang-undang moral, atau konvensyen sosial

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

غير قانوني

لا يتوافق مع الشرعية أو القانون الأخلاقي أو الأعراف الاجتماعية

🇮🇷Persian

غیر قانونی

مطابق با قانونمندی، قانون اخلاقی، یا قرارداد اجتماعی نیست

🇹🇷Turkish

yasadışı

Yasallığa, ahlaki yasaya veya sosyal sözleşmeye uymamak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לֹא חוּקִי

לא תואם את החוקיות, החוק המוסרי או המוסכמה החברתית

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'unlawful' is 'not conforming to legality, moral law, or social convention'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'unlawful' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

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Somewhat likely

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Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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