as in legitimate
permitted by law
hunting is a lawful activity only if you have the proper license
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lawful
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2025
Seven people affiliated with the University of Maryland, College Park have unexpectedly lost their lawful status in the United States, the university confirmed to The Baltimore Sun on Friday.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025
Two courts in Washington are still weighing in on whether the efforts to shut out the AP are lawful.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
These refugees, most of whom are women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, fled an active war zone through a lawful program initiated by the U.S. government.
—Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lawful
Adjective
Trump is attempting to deny birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, to babies born to parents who aren’t citizens or lawful permanent residents.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2025
Seven people affiliated with the University of Maryland, College Park have unexpectedly lost their lawful status in the United States, the university confirmed to The Baltimore Sun on Friday.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025
Two courts in Washington are still weighing in on whether the efforts to shut out the AP are lawful.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
These refugees, most of whom are women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, fled an active war zone through a lawful program initiated by the U.S. government.
—Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lawful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lawful
Adjective
-
Update your website's robots.txt file to explicitly allow access to legitimate AI crawlers like OpenAI's GPTBot and Google's AI systems, while still blocking problematic scrapers.—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
-
Two of the best teams in the league, two legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, playing each other a month too early but playing each other nonetheless.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
Noun
-
Above all for the junta leader, domestic legitimacy is key in order to maintain his regime.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
2 May 2025
-
Of course, in the age of conspiracies and widespread scepticism, questions have been raised around the legitimacy of his age.—
Tristan Lavalette,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
Adjective
-
Ward's detention on April 21 came amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, during which people with valid documentation—including green cards or visas—have been detained and face legal jeopardy.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 May 2025
-
In addition to live testimony, the legal team plans to present documents and statements from producers, Sony Pictures and other eyewitnesses.—
Elizabeth Rosner,
People.com,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lawful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lawful. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share