unlawful

adjective

un·​law·​ful ˌən-ˈlȯ-fəl 

1

: not lawful : illegal

2

: not morally right or conventional

unlawfully

ˌən-ˈlȯ-f(ə-)lē 

adverb

unlawfulness

ˌən-ˈlȯ-fəl-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• criminal
• felonious
• illegal
• illegitimate
• illicit
• lawless
• wrongful

Examples of unlawful in a Sentence

The sale of alcohol to minors is unlawful.

it is unlawful to set off fireworks within the city limits

Recent Examples on the Web

Of note: Your Content must not be false, defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any other third-party rights or otherwise be unlawful. —Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

That month, Drummond sued the board directly in the Oklahoma Supreme Court and asked it to rescind the charter contract and declare St. Isidore's establishment as a charter school unlawful. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 29 Apr. 2025

Executive orders come out of the White House that are plainly unlawful without even the formality of consulting OLC. —Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 28 Apr. 2025

Senate Bill 442, which addresses instruction on human sexuality, and Senate Bill 289, which addresses unlawful discrimination, were both authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville. —Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for unlawful

• awful
• lawful
• offal
• waffle

Kids Definition

unlawful

adjective

un·​law·​ful ˌən-ˈlȯ-fəl 

ˈən-

: not lawful : being against the law : illegal

unlawfully

-f(ə-)lē 

adverb

unlawfulness

-fəl-nəs 

noun

Legal Definition

unlawful

adjective

un·​law·​ful

1

: not lawful : not authorized or justified by law

2

: acting contrary to or in defiance of the law

an unlawful possessor

unlawfully adverb

unlawfulness noun