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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And the blurred line between guanxi and outright illegality bred widespread graft.—
Reagan Yip,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
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While lower prices are welcome news for consumers, cannabis businesses have had difficulty making money due to high financing and operating costs, and an inability to take normal business tax deductions due to the drug’s illegality under federal law.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Both Dodington and Blanton praised the state for treating violence as a public health problem rather than an issue of criminality.—
Emilia Otte,
Hartford Courant,
13 June 2026
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That politicians and governments and banks and other far-reaching institutions do not face the consequences of their criminality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
Noun
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In 2014, Smith served a nine-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct and substance abuse policies.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 June 2026
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He was suspended multiple times during his career for infractions including violating the league's substance abuse and personal conduct policy.—
Brandon Downs,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
Noun
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Ramaphosa accused these groups of exploiting migration anxieties to sow division through lawlessness and violence.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
8 June 2026
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The lawlessness, corruption, hypocrisy and plain old evil coming out of the White House these days is astounding and overwhelming.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
Noun
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Plots often involved ecological disaster, war, corruption, corporate exploitation and extraction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
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Allegations of corruption, fraud, insider trading, cronyism, loss of competent intelligence and reckless actions including a new war.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unlawfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlawfulness. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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