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.

Prediction markets claim federal regulation, but some states view them as illegal gambling.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

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

“If parents aren’t going to hold their children accountable, then I am going to hold parents accountable for hurting and killing innocent people while riding illegal motor vehicles,” Spitzer said in the statement.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

All of our departures from the country were dangerous, abrupt, and mostly illegal.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Vocabulary lists containing illegal

List 3

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

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