illegal

[ih-lee-guhl] / ɪˈli gəl /

ADJECTIVE

against the law

Synonyms

STRONGEST

banned criminal illegitimate illicit irregular outlawed prohibited smuggled unauthorized unconstitutional unlawful unlicensed unwarranted wrongful

WEAK

actionable black-market bootleg contraband crooked extralegal felonious forbidden heavy hot interdicted lawless not approved not legal outside the law proscribed prosecutable racket shady sub-rosa taboo under-the-table unofficial unwarrantable verboten violating wildcat

Antonyms

STRONGEST

authorized blessed ethical good justifiable lawful legal legitimate moral permitted right warranted

WEAK

allowed permissible

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Up to 350 illegal migrants have been moved to the Crowborough military barracks in East Sussex.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

Blockading merchant ships violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and is illegal, she noted.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Iran’s armed forces said before the U.S. blockade began that such a move would constitute an illegal “act of piracy.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

“Focusing on illegal wildlife trade is not enough,” said Meredith Gore, a conservation criminologist at the University of Maryland and a co-author of the study.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

What most surprised many analysts was that, in both studies, whites were actually more likely than people of color to be carrying illegal drugs or contraband in their vehicles.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Vocabulary lists containing illegal

List 3

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