as in criminality
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Recent Examples of illegality
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
So do expressions of concern and declarations of illegality by democratic countries.
—Richard Fontaine, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
These works, among others, challenge visitors to consider how LA and São Paulo have criminalized their most vulnerable citizens but also demonstrate how Brazil’s discourse on social rights and illegality is unique.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Other clients retained attorneys and accountants, and those professionals also warned of the tax shelter's illegality.
—Logan Smith, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
But most personnel already understand the duty to disobey obvious illegality—and reminding them of it nudges more of them toward lawful behavior when the stakes are at their most extreme.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
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
So do expressions of concern and declarations of illegality by democratic countries.
—Richard Fontaine, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026
These works, among others, challenge visitors to consider how LA and São Paulo have criminalized their most vulnerable citizens but also demonstrate how Brazil’s discourse on social rights and illegality is unique.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Other clients retained attorneys and accountants, and those professionals also warned of the tax shelter's illegality.
—Logan Smith, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
But most personnel already understand the duty to disobey obvious illegality—and reminding them of it nudges more of them toward lawful behavior when the stakes are at their most extreme.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegality
Noun
-
In the 1980s and 1990s, the figure of the addict abruptly shifted from being considered deserving of medical treatment to being seen as an emblem of incurable criminality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Durov was arrested in France in 2024 and charged with enabling various forms of criminality on his app.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
22 Mar. 2026
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
Noun
-
During the men’s Euros in 2024, police forces reported 351 incidents of domestic abuse as being football-related.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The abuse allegations were reported to local law enforcement, said Lauren Fisher Flores, the lawyer representing the girl.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As Euphoria’s creator, writer, and director, Sam Levinson wants to craft a show about the pervasiveness of fentanyl, the dangers of addiction, and the lawlessness of the American West.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
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The lawlessness afoot in Venezuela’s capital city is vibrantly captured in this gripping adaptation of Karina Sainz Borgo’s novel from the filmmaking team behind Bad Hair (Festival 2014).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Forty-seven years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Though Guelleh has presided over economic growth during his time as president, economic benefits have not fully trickled down, and much of the population remains mired in poverty; this economic inequality is due in part to corruption and patronage.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
7 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
-
Consider this evilmeister’s brazen acts of treason and revenge, unbounded deceit, swinish immorality and negative role modeling.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Rather, a lengthy process can be initiated to remove a member from office for gross neglect of duty, gross immorality, drunkenness, or other misconduct, the Ohio School Board Association stated.—
Grace Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Illegality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegality. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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