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.

In the year ending March 2026, there were 43,806 detected arrivals via illegal routes, with small boat crossings accounting for 90% of these arrivals.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Owning a Starlink terminal is illegal in Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

Its registration process is "broken" and encouraging illegal children's homes to "thrive", according to one director of a provider of registered homes.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

When the ban on illegal children's homes was introduced, the Conservative Education Secretary said "the BBC had highlighted something that just needed to be changed".

From BBC • May 20, 2026

Don Julio said it was illegal for a driver to refuse a fare, but that didn’t stop them from doing it.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Vocabulary lists containing illegal

List 3

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