lawless

adjective

law·less | \ ˈlȯ-ləs

Definition of lawless

1 : not regulated by or based on law

2a : not restrained or controlled by law : unruly

b : illegal

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Examples of lawless in a Sentence

the lawless society of the frontier the lawless rioters were destroying everything in sight

Recent Examples on the Web

By creating the region of about four million people, backers hope to narrow the base of support for extremist groups in the region, one of the most lawless in the country. — Jake Maxwell Watts, WSJ, "Philippine Towns Blocked From Joining Muslim Self-Rule Region," 15 Feb. 2019 Meanwhile, the book’s table of contents: pic.twitter.com/OVTKU1w1E3 — Sean Craig (@sdbcraig) April 4, 2018 Goldy doesn’t deal in principled protectionism, opposition to lawless immigration, or capitalist conservatism. — Jane Coaston, Vox, "Steve King endorses a bona fide white supremacist for Toronto mayor," 18 Oct. 2018 But there are drawbacks to large-scale use in Colombia’s lawless drug zones: Soldiers need to be deployed to cordon off swaths of coca-producing land from angry farmers or drug traffickers seeking to damage the devices. — Juan Forero And, WSJ, "Colombia Tests Drones to Destroy Coca Plants Used for Cocaine," 19 Aug. 2018 Now back to the case that so aroused Mr. Trump’s ire as an instance of lawless, liberal judicial overreach. — William A. Galston, WSJ, "Trump Misjudges America’s Courts," 27 Nov. 2018 By traveling in large groups with ample media attention, migrants could travel more safely through lawless regions of Mexico. — Juan Montes, WSJ, "Caravan’s Stymied Passage Leaves Migrant Issue Boiling," 28 Dec. 2018 Live-streaming webcast is not lawless territory and users should obey the law and uphold moral standards. — Gerry Shih, The Seattle Times, "Chinese online star detained for 5 days after singing the national anthem badly," 15 Oct. 2018 End of days Described in several Norse sources (primarily Snorri Sturluson's 13th century Prose Edda), Ragnarök begins with a brutal winter lasting three times longer than usual, driving mankind to lawless desperation. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "“Wolf’s jaw” star cluster may have inspired parts of Ragnarök myth," 16 Nov. 2018 But the caravan panic isn’t just about the idea of a lawless mob swarming the border. — Dara Lind, Vox, "The conspiracy theory that led to the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, explained," 29 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lawless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.