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Definitions

unwritten law

NOUN
law based on customs or traditions
Synonyms


NOUN
rule based on custom
Synonyms


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.

See Examples For:

There’s an unwritten law that literary fiction set in the high plains be sturdy and simple — sentences firm as fence posts, commas hammered in as clean as barn nails.

From Los Angeles Times May 31, 2024

Experts say the unwritten law of the sea is a Hollywood-fed myth and a relic of Victorian-era chivalry.

From Seattle Times Dec. 15, 2023

Patty is Allison's next-door neighbor, and per the unwritten law of sitcoms, one might assume that the two would automatically be friends, if not best pals.

From Salon Jul. 18, 2021

"We never talked about it and it was sort of unwritten law that we didn't. He just told us that he wasn't up to doing tours, and that's as far as it went."

From BBC Feb. 16, 2020

It was unwritten law in China, so my informant told me, that when one man saved another’s life he became responsible for that life to the end of its existence.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck




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