UNLAWFULNESS Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

unlawfulness

noun

Definition of unlawfulness

as in illegality

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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 unlawfulness But in a court-martial, a service member who argues that an order is unlawful has the burden of proving its unlawfulness. — Joshua Kastenberg, The Conversation, 16 Dec. 2025 Many people at Harvard and elsewhere feared that the university would reach a deal with the Administration before Judge Burroughs’s decision, because that would have meant that no court would declare the unlawfulness of the Administration’s actions toward academic institutions. — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlawfulness

Noun

The Philippines began to release video of China violating the arbitration ruling, and calling out the illegality of China’s actions on social media.

— Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
As a result, the decision was 6–3 on the illegality of the executive order, but only 5–4 on the constitutional question.

— Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 30 June 2026

Definition of illegality

Noun

What about how police agencies understand criminality and risk can only be put on the table and frankly stated behind closed doors?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
The Jackson County District Attorney's office has previously said convening a grand jury does not mean there is any criminality and is standard procedure for most unnatural or suspicious deaths in the county.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of criminality

Noun

Shortly after, Panettiere struggles with postpartum depression, and her substance abuse issues resurface.

— Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
Video recordings and documents detail how investigators pursued the case, and the possibility of abuse, for months but failed to identify a perpetrator.

— Amy Brittain, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of abuse

Noun

Times when this line has fundamentally blurred, such as with Nixon and Watergate, have been some of the most notorious instances of overreach and corruption in our history.

— New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026
Collins has been behind in numerous polls, and has been fighting a House ethics investigation and accusations of corruption and associations with white supremacists throughout his campaign.

— Irene Wright, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of corruption

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unlawful

unlawfulness

unlay

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“Unlawfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlawfulness. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of unlawfulness

noun

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