Word family noun law lawyer outlaw lawfulness lawlessness adjective lawful ≠ unlawful verb outlaw adverb lawfully ≠ unlawfully
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishunlawfulun‧law‧ful /ʌnˈlɔːfəl $ -ˈlɒː-/ ●○○ adjective law SCLnot legal SYN illegal The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing. —unlawfully adverbExamples from the Corpus
unlawful• The court rules that the raid had been unlawful.• There are two types of crime which will not suffice as the unlawful act: crimes of negligence and crimes of omission.• The Attorney-General may proceed in the High Court for an Order to prevent the local authority carrying out its intended unlawful act.• unlawful activities• Some see the distinction in terms of a commission which is unlawful and an omission which may not be.• Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest is entitled to compensation.• This leads us to consider the meaning of unlawful discrimination.• unlawful employment practices• He admitted unlawful possession of amphetamine and unlawful possession of cannabis.• The unlawful taking and driving away of vehicles goes well beyond damage to property.• However, although the failure to consult was unlawful, the fact was that the unit had already been closed.• Six officers were originally charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and the seventh with unlawful wounding. 