as in legitimacy
the quality or state of being legal
the lawyers had to work for weeks to determine the lawfulness of the proposed contract
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Recent Examples of lawfulness
The administration now plans to seek a full review next term on the lawfulness of the executive order itself.
—
Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
The High Court of Justice in London dismissed claims from the Wikimedia Foundation, which challenged the lawfulness of the categorization system used to determine which sites must comply with obligations.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2025
Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
The High Court of Justice in London dismissed claims from the Wikimedia Foundation, which challenged the lawfulness of the categorization system used to determine which sites must comply with obligations.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lawfulness
legitimacy
Noun
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Approval would let Ripple operate as a federally regulated trust bank—a substantial legitimacy boost.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lawfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lawfulness. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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