1
as in legitimate
permitted by law
the congressman's fund-raising efforts, though arguably unethical, were determined to be legal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in moral
following or according to the rules
the referee declared it a legal play
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 legal
The fashionista was married to hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, who has had a slew of legal issues over the years, between 1998 and 2009.
—
Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 7 Nov. 2025
Kennedy had argued the animals exposed to flu may hold potential for disease research, but the agency said there was no evidence for this and yesterday the Canadian Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the case, removing the last legal roadblock to prevent their culling.
—Max Saltman, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
On Kalshi, the prediction market that has become a legal way for Texans to bet on sports, TCU has a 70% chance of winning the game.
—Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Nov. 2025
The former All-Pro wide receiver has had previous legal issues.
—Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legal
Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 7 Nov. 2025
Kennedy had argued the animals exposed to flu may hold potential for disease research, but the agency said there was no evidence for this and yesterday the Canadian Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the case, removing the last legal roadblock to prevent their culling.
—Max Saltman, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
On Kalshi, the prediction market that has become a legal way for Texans to bet on sports, TCU has a 70% chance of winning the game.
—Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Nov. 2025
The former All-Pro wide receiver has had previous legal issues.
—Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legal
Adjective
-
Another group, the Hokkaido Bear Research Society, has vocally opposed killing bears except for legitimate hunting purposes.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
To review or object to instances where our partners assert a legitimate interest in utilizing your data, please visit our vendors page.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
My appeal is not only personal, but also moral.—
Kim Aris,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Then there is the wider moral question of whether historical artifacts should ever be intentionally destroyed.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Other ethical considerations will arise as the watches go into production.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
There are also social and ethical challenges that need to be addressed.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Since 2019, California has partnered with jurisdictions in 28 countries—touching more than a quarter of the world’s population, with a combined GDP in the tens of trillions of dollars—to cut greenhouse gases, enhance climate resilience and develop clean energy.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
How to Get Around Metro Rio’s metro is fast, clean, and air-conditioned, with stops in Ipanema and Copacabana.—
Aaron Randolph,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Since the weather was pretty fair at the time of the crash and the NTSB had few initial takeaways about the environment, the airplane itself will be key, Muntean said.—
Lauren Mascarenhas,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
To be fair, public entities have been stretching public records trade secret exceptions to logical extremes long before college athletes started getting paid—and these carve-outs are often intended to be permissive.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legal. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share