ILLEGALITY Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

illegality

noun

as in criminality

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Recent Examples of illegality As a result, the decision was 6–3 on the illegality of the executive order, but only 5–4 on the constitutional question. — Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 30 June 2026 The Justice Manual violations described above represent only one dimension of the illegality of this Fund. — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 26 June 2026 Federal illegality further cripples operations with banking and tax burdens. — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026 And the blurred line between guanxi and outright illegality bred widespread graft. — Reagan Yip, CNN Money, 3 June 2026 While lower prices are welcome news for consumers, cannabis businesses have had difficulty making money due to high financing and operating costs, and an inability to take normal business tax deductions due to the drug’s illegality under federal law. — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026 Speaking out in that way is not illegality. — ABC News, 18 Jan. 2026 Many of the administration’s actions rely on broad claims of illegality without providing specific violations. — Spencer Overton, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026 My uncles and cousins, all city or federal police officers, did not use political party affiliation as a basis for determining legality versus illegality. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegality

Noun

The administration says the best way to stop such abuses and criminality is to disincentivize immigrant children from coming in the first place.

— Mica Rosenberg, ProPublica, 6 July 2026
In that context, the language of immigrant criminality becomes part of the rationale for detention rules, enforcement surges and legal changes that treat noncitizens as a standing public safety risk.

— Donathan L. Brown, The Conversation, 24 June 2026

Definition of criminality

Noun

But in a court-martial, a service member who argues that an order is unlawful has the burden of proving its unlawfulness.

— Joshua Kastenberg, The Conversation, 16 Dec. 2025
Many people at Harvard and elsewhere feared that the university would reach a deal with the Administration before Judge Burroughs’s decision, because that would have meant that no court would declare the unlawfulness of the Administration’s actions toward academic institutions.

— Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025

Definition of unlawfulness

Noun

Nigeria imposed a $220 million fine on Meta in 2024 following an investigation that alleged a breach of data privacy laws and market power abuse by the Silicon Valley giant.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 10 July 2026
Hundreds of pages of filings in a civil lawsuit and countersuit detail allegations of fraud and elder abuse, years of adultery, and a battle for property, luxury sports cars and cash.

— Amber Gaudet, Charlotte Observer, 10 July 2026

Definition of abuse

Noun

Until April, Calabria had spent 17 years under special administration due to persistent budget deficits, which along with corruption scandals and Mafia infiltration affected health investments.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
The 48-year-old daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte is accused of corruption, bribery, misappropriating millions in government funds and threatening to have the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, assassinated.

— Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 9 July 2026

Definition of corruption

Noun

This kind of depravity, licentiousness and polemical theatrics has no place on such a traditional and once wholesome presentation of the coming of a new year in our great nation and especially on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom in history.

— Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
This kind of depravity, licentiousness and polemical theatrics has no place on such a traditional and once-wholesome presentation of the coming of a new year, especially on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and freedom in history.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026

Definition of licentiousness

Noun

Independents said the worst thing about Republicans was their loyalty to Trump (10%), perceptions of corruption and self-enrichment (8%), dishonesty, hypocrisy or immorality (7%), a lack of concern for ordinary people or cruelty (6%), and ineffective and weak or unqualified leadership (5%).

— Emily Guskin, ABC News, 27 May 2026
That immorality takes on many forms across all aspects of society.

— Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 5 May 2026

Definition of immorality

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illegality

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“Illegality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegality. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of illegality

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