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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All of this came after both Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew were photographed with other members of the royal family at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral, which seemed to grant legitimacy to the former couple and raised eyebrows considering Andrew’s numerous scandals.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
6 Nov. 2025
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The cast largely helps to keep things grounded, rebutting the histrionics by treating each claim with legitimacy or reciting each gauche line with apt conviction.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lawfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lawfulness. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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