as in dirty
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Recent Examples of illegally
At least $132,000 in San Diego County funds were illegally spent on those and other personal expenses, prosecutors alleged this week.
—
Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
The mansions are in the Bio Barray neighborhood, part of which has been built illegally in the mountainous Western Area Peninsula National Park, which Sierra Leone's government has proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
—Ed Davey The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 19 Feb. 2026
If the answer was anything other than the United States, local officers deputized with special federal authority launched an investigation into whether the person was in the country illegally.
—David A. Lieb, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
His on-again, off-again girlfriend, Ashley Dyrdahl, was sentenced to nearly four years in prison last fall for illegally buying the weapons used in the standoff.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Goetz, who had been assaulted three years earlier and then denied a gun permit, illegally carried a revolver.
—Michael Bobelian, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2026
The mansions are in the Bio Barray neighborhood, part of which has been built illegally in the mountainous Western Area Peninsula National Park, which Sierra Leone’s government has proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
The days when his wife, who entered the US illegally 26 years ago and has started the process of applying for a green card, would attend Bible study, go grocery shopping and drop off or pick up their children from school feel long gone, the father and husband said.
—Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
If they are found to be in the country illegally, ICE will be notified and they will be held in jail, pending ICE removal.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 17 Feb. 2026
Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026
The mansions are in the Bio Barray neighborhood, part of which has been built illegally in the mountainous Western Area Peninsula National Park, which Sierra Leone's government has proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
—Ed Davey The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 19 Feb. 2026
If the answer was anything other than the United States, local officers deputized with special federal authority launched an investigation into whether the person was in the country illegally.
—David A. Lieb, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
His on-again, off-again girlfriend, Ashley Dyrdahl, was sentenced to nearly four years in prison last fall for illegally buying the weapons used in the standoff.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Goetz, who had been assaulted three years earlier and then denied a gun permit, illegally carried a revolver.
—Michael Bobelian, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2026
The mansions are in the Bio Barray neighborhood, part of which has been built illegally in the mountainous Western Area Peninsula National Park, which Sierra Leone’s government has proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
The days when his wife, who entered the US illegally 26 years ago and has started the process of applying for a green card, would attend Bible study, go grocery shopping and drop off or pick up their children from school feel long gone, the father and husband said.
—Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
If they are found to be in the country illegally, ICE will be notified and they will be held in jail, pending ICE removal.
—Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 17 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegally
unethically
Adverb
-
Bree has just gotten out of her confusing affair with the unethically ethically nonmonogamous professor.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Although autonomous intelligent systems (AIS) can offer significant benefits, they also can be used unethically.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illegally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegally. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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