legally

adverb

le·​gal·​ly ˈlē-gə-lē 

1

: in a legal manner : in accordance with the law

a transfer that was not done legally

a drug that can now be legally bought and sold in many countries

2

: from the point of view of law

Legally, she had no claim to the estate.

They were not legally obligated to provide assistance.

a person who is legally blind [=who is blind according to the legal definition of blindness]

legally drunk [=drunk according to the legal definition of drunkenness]

Synonyms of legally

• ethically
• fairly
• morally
• honorably
• fair
• cleanly
• clean

Examples of legally in a Sentence

that's not a move that can be made legally in chess

Recent Examples on the Web

In a federal race, candidates can not legally coordinate with the super PACs backing their campaigns. — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026

New York aims to legally reclassify these operations as gambling, which would drastically increase Kalshi's tax obligations and significantly impact its profitability. — Nathan Goldman, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

This is bolstered by the fact that no one has ever been legally allowed to drive on of these cars home in real life. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 31 July 2026

The deal also gives Asteria access to ZeroGen, ZeroSpace’s generative AI platform that aims to let studios generate content within legal guidelines, helping enterprise customers avoid the legally murky areas of copyright issues. — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for legally

• illegally