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laws

noun

plural of law
1
as in acts
a rule of conduct or action laid down by a governing authority and especially a legislature a record number of laws were passed in that legislative session

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in constitutions
a collection or system of rules of conduct it's important to obey the law at all times, or else you might end up in jail

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3
as in police
the department of government that keeps order, fights crime, and enforces statutes a petty thief who had somehow managed to avoid the law for most of his life

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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 laws Their laws prescribed the death penalty for anyone who helped a stranger; after giving bread to a poor man, Lot’s daughter was immolated on a pyre. — Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026 Friday's order aims to accelerate implementation of both laws. — Cecilio Padilla, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026 Its governing structure remains authoritarian, and its laws remain discriminatory. — Pegah Banihashemi, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026 The island relies on arms purchases from the United States, which is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. — ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026 The 230-page lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Northern California, accuses Meta of fraud and false advertising, along with violating other consumer protection laws in various states. — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026 Agencies may continue interpreting existing laws differently, while future administrations could reverse regulatory policies. — Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026 The 9th Circuit also said the Commodity Exchange Act, which Kalshi says gives the CFTC authority that supersedes state laws, likely does not extend to Kalshi’s sports bets. — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Albert Ramdin, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said while the hemispheric body cannot compel countries to keep undocumented migrants when their laws do not permit it, as in the case of the termination of TPS. — Gérard Maxineau, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laws
  1. acts
  2. constitutions
  3. police
  4. ordinances
  5. codes
  6. statutes
  7. bills
  8. amendments
Noun
  • Held at Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Shaky Knees mixes major alternative acts with indie-rock veterans and emerging artists.
    — Courtney Devores, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The Fray rose to prominence in the mid-2000s as one of the defining piano-rock acts of their era.
    — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of acts
Noun
  • Devising constitutions, or fundamental laws, is so elemental to human society that the collective noun might be a constitution of humans.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The decision echoes those seen in several former Soviet republics, including Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where leaders have used new or amended constitutions to revise statutory term limits.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of constitutions
Noun
  • The younger girl sat on the back of the bike, while the older teen pedaled and steered, police sources said.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026
  • It was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane on airport grounds, where German police safely defused the device.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of police
Noun
  • The ordinances are scheduled to return to the Aurora City Council for a final vote later in September.
    — Kelly Werthmann, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The city, however, maintains that failing to microchip or spay or neuter a dog violates city ordinances but falls short of abuse.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of ordinances
Noun
  • The campaign will center around Bluepass, a new certification label that can appear on product pages, hangtags and inside garments, with QR codes linking shoppers to verification pages.
    — Jessica Binns, Vogue, 14 Sep. 2026
  • According to Nintendo, unnamed security researchers recently discovered a way to exploit QR codes to carry out a Proximity-Based Remote Attack.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of codes
Noun
  • It has also been interpreted as prohibiting states from adopting statutes that substantially interfere with other states’ economies, a point relevant given varying state NIL laws.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Roughly two dozen countries have statutes that classify maternal infanticide as less culpable than ordinary murder; the United States recognizes no such distinction, forcing cases like Clancy’s into the contentious framework of the insanity defense.
    — Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of statutes
Noun
  • The bills prohibits agents, officers and employees of DHS or those acting under authority of the agency from conducting operations in child care facilities, school bus stops and playgrounds.
    — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The average homeowner should still expect slight increases in their county tax bills due a state rule that links taxable values to the inflation rate.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of bills
Noun
  • That could include new signs across the entire 4,500-acre property; updated BNA Shop merchandise; shuttle bus decals, uniforms, business cards and amendments to hundreds of legal contracts, leases and other government documents.
    — Molly Davis, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • While McConnell has been able to vote by proxy on amendments during committee meetings, proxy votes cannot be used to advance legislation out of committee.
    — Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of amendments

Browse Nearby Words

lawns
laws
lawsuit
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Cite this Entry

“Laws.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laws. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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