as in illegality
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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
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
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Speaking out in that way is not illegality.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Jan. 2026
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Many of the administration’s actions rely on broad claims of illegality without providing specific violations.—
Spencer Overton,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
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At this time there is nothing to suggest any criminality with respect to their venture.—
Andy Sheehan,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
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Police are investigating if any criminality was involved.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The child's mother reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
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On one hand, some argue that Good was attempting to leave the scene, and a trigger-happy ICE agent fired his weapon at her, an abuse of authority.—
Andrew Adeolu,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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What motivated their action was not lawlessness but consciousness.—
Greg Norman-Diamond,
FOXNews.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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People's Liberation Army troops under Mao's control either ignored the violence or offered support to the insurrectionists while the country descended into lawlessness and retribution.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The protests began in late December amid widespread anger over economic hardship, political repression and corruption, according to reports.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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Yoon himself, as a prosecutor, helped bring down former President Park Geun-hye, who was imprisoned for corruption and abuse of power.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unlawfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlawfulness. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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