unlawful
adjective
un·law·ful
ˌən-ˈlȯ-fəl 
1
: not lawful : illegal
2
: not morally right or conventional
Synonyms
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
In other words, by expanding the range of employment decisions that meet the threshold for unlawful discrimination, does the decision spell doom for employer diversity programs?
—
Ming-Qi Chu, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
They were charged with with unlawful use of a criminal instrument.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
In another, Malik shivers in fear when police officers cruelly storm his home during a random and unlawful search, rattling his sister, hardworking mom Dolores (Jurnee Smollett) and grandmother Anita (S. Epatha Merkerson) in the middle of the night.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024
Keith Bryant was found guilty of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon by a Marion County jury in March.
—Jade Thomas, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Trump's current criminal trial — though best-known for its link to Stormy Daniels' hush money payment — is largely about whether a powerful man with similarly powerful friends used unlawful means to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favor.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
And their amoral devotion to unlawful work has brought each of them, unexpectedly, to a place of uncertainty.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
The charges ranged from unlawful assembly to conspiracy to commit a crime to false imprisonment.
—Jason Green, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
The Sheriff’s Department has a troubled history in the Antelope Valley, where a two-year federal investigation found in 2013 that deputies had a pattern of using unreasonable force, harassing and intimidating people and making unlawful stops of Black and Latino residents.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
Ming-Qi Chu, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
They were charged with with unlawful use of a criminal instrument.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
In another, Malik shivers in fear when police officers cruelly storm his home during a random and unlawful search, rattling his sister, hardworking mom Dolores (Jurnee Smollett) and grandmother Anita (S. Epatha Merkerson) in the middle of the night.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024
Keith Bryant was found guilty of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon by a Marion County jury in March.
—Jade Thomas, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Apr. 2024
Trump's current criminal trial — though best-known for its link to Stormy Daniels' hush money payment — is largely about whether a powerful man with similarly powerful friends used unlawful means to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favor.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
And their amoral devotion to unlawful work has brought each of them, unexpectedly, to a place of uncertainty.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
The charges ranged from unlawful assembly to conspiracy to commit a crime to false imprisonment.
—Jason Green, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
The Sheriff’s Department has a troubled history in the Antelope Valley, where a two-year federal investigation found in 2013 that deputies had a pattern of using unreasonable force, harassing and intimidating people and making unlawful stops of Black and Latino residents.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unlawful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near unlawful
Cite this Entry
“Unlawful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unlawful. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unlawful
adjective
un·law·ful
ˌən-ˈlȯ-fəl
ˈən-
: not lawful : being against the law : illegal
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