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illegal definition

il·le·gal (i lē′gəl)

adjective

prohibited by law; against the law; unlawful; illicit; also, not authorized or sanctioned, as by rules

Etymology: < Fr illégal or ML illegalis: see in- & legal

noun

an alien who has entered a country illegally

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

illegal Synonyms

illegal

modif.

illicit, unlawful, prohibited, contraband, banned, unconstitutional, outside the law, extralegal, outlawed, not legal, unauthorized, unlicensed, lawless, actionable, verboten (German), sub rosa (Latin), illegitimate, taboo, forbidden, interdicted, proscribed, misbegotten, irregular, criminal, felonious, against the law, after-hours, not approved, uncertified, unwarranted, unwarrantable, smuggled, black-market, bootlegged, hot*; see also stolen.

Antonyms lawful, legal*, authorized.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

illegal Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • immigrant: Mr Letwin said illegal immigrants, who the ID cards are aimed at tracking, would not apply for them.

Used with adjective complement

  • declare: However, the decision will not mean that all detention in the UK will be declared illegal.

Infinitive complement

  • possess: However, it is not illegal to possess untreated, raw magic mushrooms.

Modifying Another Word

  • technically: Despite that, around 70 million technically illegal workers crowd the urban streets looking for employment.

Preposition: without

  • permission: This section makes the reverse engineering of object code back to source illegal without the permission of the owner.

Preposition: for

  • anyone: That is why it is illegal for anyone under 16 to drop out of high school in most states.
illegal usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

illegal quotes

Cricket is not illegal, for it is a manly game.

-Anne, Queen

I have never, ever knowingly taken illegal drugs, and I Johnson would never embarrass my family, my friends, my country, and the kids who love me.

-Johnson, Ben

When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal† But I brought myself down. I gave them a sword and they stuck it in and twisted it with relish. And I guess that if Ihad been intheir position,I'd have donethesame thing.

-Nixon, Richard M(ilhous)

illegal quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"illegal." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/illegal>

APA Style

illegal. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/illegal

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