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 Politicians have been ushered on the stages of megachurches to receive a pastor’s endorsement despite IRS tax laws that forbid it. — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 18 July 2026 Bonta’s office did not respond to a request for comment on whether DHS ownership of the facilities could limit the state’s ability to enforce its oversight laws, including AB 103. — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026 Turks and Caicos has strict firearms and ammunition laws that are strongly enforced at airports. — Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 17 July 2026 States also cannot fully determine the SEC-CFTC division of authority, create uniform national exchange rules or eliminate the compliance costs created by a patchwork of state laws, but states are no longer waiting. — Sean Stein Smith, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 However, Ars Technica has suggested that contractions in the Russian economy led to very recent changes in the country's laws for space advertising that could lead to more examples like this. — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 17 July 2026 New York, California, and Illinois have already enacted frontier-AI transparency laws. — Jesse Rothman, Boston Herald, 17 July 2026 The deal could close as soon as July 22, though several states, including Oregon and California, are investigating whether the $111 billion transaction violates their antitrust laws. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 11 July 2026 Prediction markets can legally operate in Texas because they’re regulated by the federal government rather than under state gambling laws. — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for laws
  1. acts
  2. constitutions
  3. police
  4. ordinances
  5. codes
  6. statutes
  7. bills
  8. amendments
Noun
  • Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who promised to bring in the law during his 2024 election campaign, is due to open debate on the bill in the Commons on Tuesday in one of his final acts as leader.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
  • The prohibition, together with the delegated and implementing acts, will apply to large companies beginning Sunday.
    — Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 14 July 2026
Definition of acts
Noun
  • The obligations can be established through national constitutions, state constitutions, laws, and treaties.
    — Jon McGowan, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • Leaders of several former Soviet republics, including Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, have replaced or amended their countries’ constitutions to strengthen their executive powers and extend their time in office.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 July 2026
Definition of constitutions
Noun
  • The leader is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and has authority over the national police and morality police.
    — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • Paramedics took the child to the hospital, where the toddler died, Grace Mariot, a police spokeswoman, said.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
Definition of police
Noun
  • In bodycam footage, a Sacramento police officer directly cites Grants Pass as a reason that the city has stepped up enforcement of anti-camping ordinances.
    — Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
  • Ibiza is famous for outdoor dance parties, but by the mid-2000s, after-midnight sound ordinances had pushed its superclubs indoors.
    — Max Marshall, Vanity Fair, 15 July 2026
Definition of ordinances
Noun
  • The study will examine whether the system could allow survivors to discreetly communicate with law enforcement using pre-established codes or phrases when making a phone call is not safe.
    — Steve Maugeri, CBS News, 14 July 2026
  • CouponFollow, with over 5,000 retail partners, helps shoppers find verified promo codes and discounts across its network through a browser extension called Cently, which will apply the best available codes before checkout.
    — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 14 July 2026
Definition of codes
Noun
  • As energy costs and demand continue to rise and the potential for significantly lower tax revenues looms, local governments need to understand that clean energy is not banned in Florida but is encouraged by state statutes.
    — Alan Byrd, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 July 2026
  • Key Background Federal prosecutors have increasingly used statutes prohibiting the sending of threats against the president to pursue posts made on social media.
    — Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of statutes
Noun
  • These much larger centers have begun sprouting up across the nation and making headlines for sucking up communities’ water, spiking power bills and causing other environmental issues.
    — Alexandra Phelps, Miami Herald, 17 July 2026
  • Many of the California bills related to detention facilities introduced in this legislation cycle specifically name the involvement of private operators as part of the definition of a center in the state.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of bills
Noun
  • His father was born just months after the 1947 amendments came into force, and so narrowly missed out on a hereditary title.
    — Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
  • The base bill would be sent to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee for further consideration, hearings or amendments.
    — Lorie Konish, CNBC, 14 July 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 18 Jul. 2026.

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