ILLEGALITY Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

illegality

noun

as in criminality

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Recent Examples of illegality The Philippines began to release video of China violating the arbitration ruling, and calling out the illegality of China’s actions on social media. — Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026 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 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

From self-sufficient campaigns to opportunistic criminality Defenders used individual incidents, such as supply chain intrusions, ransomware outbreaks, and phishing waves, to quantify risk for the most of the past ten years.

— Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
These programs are laudable, certainly beneficial for some people, but overall are of limited effect even in reducing recidivism, let alone dealing with the conditions that generate criminality in the first place.

— Ronald J. Allen, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 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

The Indian government last month issued a stern warning to Instagram to remove child abuse ads on its platform that followed a warning to WhatsApp over the rollout of a username feature.

— Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026
In recent years, Orbit spoke candidly about overcoming substance abuse and a psychotic episode that interrupted his career before returning to music.

— SPIN Staff, SPIN, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of abuse

Noun

At the same time, there were many voices worried about the potential lawlessness.

— Robbie Morrison, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Watson’s family implored Ruff to impose the maximum sentence, saying Sayers’ cruelty, lawlessness and hypocrisy were unforgivable.

— Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 25 July 2026

Definition of lawlessness

Noun

That committee adjourned without action, but Madigan was later convicted on corruption charges and is serving a 7 1/2-year federal prison sentence.

— Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, which won Cannes’ runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, explores personal, political and patriarchal corruption in contemporary Russia.

— Hilary Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 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.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegality. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of illegality

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