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.

The fact that they were subsequently stripped of that African Nations title for staging an illegal 17-minute walk-off to protest an officiating decision has only endeared them to me further.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Such rules would impact platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, both of which have already started to impose their own rules on users and trades in order to avoid potentially illegal activity.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Prediction-market platform Kalshi recently unveiled a swath of “market integrity” updates that all relate to one thing: stopping illegal trading by insiders.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

Police departments are also trying to educate the public before issuing citations or towing an illegal bike, but officials said it’s a challenge.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 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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