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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

illegal Related Forms
il·le·gal′·ity (i lē gal′i tē) noun pl. -·ties il·le′·gal·ly adverb
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.

illegal Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

    Modifies a noun

    • immigrant: Mr Letwin said illegal immigrants, who the ID cards are aimed at tracking, would not apply for them.
    • immigration: We will put in place 24-hour security at ports to prevent illegal immigration.
    • drug: Do not supply any illegal drugs in or from the premises.
    • eviction: They deal with tenancy and housing standards complaints, cases of illegal eviction and harassment, general tenancy advice and enforcement work.
    • substance: No illegal substances may be brought into or taken on the premises.

    Used with adjective complement

    • declare: However, the decision will not mean that all detention in the UK will be declared illegal.
    • deem: Any attempt to do so would be quickly deemed illegal by the European Court of Justice.
    • remain: It remains illegal for the product to be sold, supplied or advertised.
    • tackle: The move follows the commitment made by G8 leaders last weekend to do more to tackle illegal logging.

    Infinitive complement

    • possess: However, it is not illegal to possess untreated, raw magic mushrooms.
    • disturb: Also since 1994 it has been illegal to disturb an otter whether it is in its holt or not.
    • sell: Make it illegal to sell appliances with the option of power standby.
    • import: As far as I know they are not illegal to import and there are also one or two breeders in the UK.
    • advertize: We cannot comment on this use because it is illegal to advertize a prescription drug in the UK.
    • refuse: The legislation will make it illegal to refuse someone a job, promotion, training or benefits on account of their age.

    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 Quotes

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

—Anne, Queen

All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral or fattening.

—Woollcott, Alexander Humphreys

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)

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