laws

plural of law
1
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 Some voting laws have changed in Ohio since 2022, including the state eliminating its grace period for receiving mail ballots, a change that forces voters to return those ballots earlier. — Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026 Different views on the topic The Justice Department says its actions are intended to enforce federal voting laws and protect citizens’ ballots from dilution. — Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026 Granted, governments bend or break hard numerical laws when politics demand it, as is the case in Ghana and Kenya. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026 What readers are saying The conversation explores concerns about the imposition of religious laws, particularly focusing on the fear of Sharia law and Christian nationalism in the United States. — Asifa Quraishi-Landes, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026 Other existing Idaho laws on miscarriage management are limited, mostly focused on the disposal of a fetus’s remains and on vital statistics certificates. — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 23 Oct. 2026 Castro is currently under investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics, which is looking into whether the commissioner violated state ethics laws and used her city position to benefit her permit-expediting business. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026 Representatives Lori Trahan and Jay Obernolte have advanced the FRONTIER Act, which would authorize government intervention against risky models and override some state laws. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026 Broader consumer product safety laws still apply, including requirements to report potentially hazardous products. — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laws
Noun
  • Models literally ran down the catwalk at times during Adidas’ high-octane show with multiple acts.
    — Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
  • November’s concert slate features Mexican acts Jorge Medina of La Arrolladora Banda El Limon, Pedro Fernandez, El Tri and Los Tucanes de Tijuana.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Voters in 10 states will address prayer, trans athletes and other education issues, with some initiatives aiming for long-term change by amending constitutions.
    — Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2026
  • First Amendment experts say the dress policy draft’s language is too vague, and application of the rules for religious head coverings could run afoul of both the federal and state constitutions.
    — Ana Goñi-Lessan, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • One injured woman was rescued and hospitalized, and another person who was crying for help had gone silent, the police chief said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Around 200 firefighters and emergency personnel ⁠in the area around Berchtesgaden in ​the southern region of Bavaria were battling ​the flames after the building, known as the Kehlsteinhaus, caught fire on Friday, police said.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 24 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • However, local governments have their own ordinances regarding pet burials.
    — Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • There’s not an exact count of the number of local regulations and ordinances that have been passed since robotaxis have gone mainstream.
    — Andrew Hawkins, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • For every transaction, the platform passed the customer’s exact location, tax codes and specific pricing details to Avalara, which returned the correct tax treatment for the invoice.
    — Kashif Saleem, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The European nation later passed legislation mandating tracking codes on political social media messaging.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The lawsuit in District Court for the District of Columbia contends that the federal government failed to comply with numerous statutes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Because of the 2024 ruling, courts no longer have to defer to federal agencies' interpretations of statutes when the language is unclear.
    — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • But once those bills stop after age 5, the lower rent pulls the long-run totals down sharply.
    — Martie Bowser, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The Times’ reporting found that Marshall filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding bills during his career as an obstetrician-gynecologist and that patients were arrested in 81 of those cases for missing court dates.
    — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The lawmakers also said CMS should publicize the contracts and contract amendments.
    — Samantha Liss, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For calendar-year companies, that means the 2026 audit is the first audit subject to those amendments.
    — Jacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Laws.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laws. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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