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.

District Judge Colleen McMahon handed down a 143-page opinion explaining exactly how illegal that was.

From Slate • May 14, 2026

There are cases of restaurants not passing tips onto employees, even though that’s illegal.

From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026

A city lawyer framed it as an illegal end-run around the state Public Information Act itself.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

However, it said the provider had failed "to comply with its duties to assess and mitigate the risk of people in the UK encountering illegal content on its service".

From BBC • May 13, 2026

The Court has ruled that a city police department cannot be sued for damages unless a specific city policy or custom can be identified authorizing the illegal practice.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Vocabulary lists containing illegal

List 3

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Fear and Loathing in Cleveland: Trump's RNC Acceptance Speech

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