illegal

[ ih-lee-guhl ]

adjective

1. forbidden by law or statute.

   Synonyms: unlicensed, illicit, illegitimate, unlawful

2. contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.:

   The referee ruled that it was an illegal forward pass.

noun

1. Informal: Disparaging and Offensive. illegal alien.

illegal

/ ɪˈliːɡəl /

adjective

1. forbidden by law; unlawful; illicit
2. unauthorized or prohibited by a code of official or accepted rules

noun

1. a person who has entered or attempted to enter a country illegally

Sensitive Note

See illegal alien.

Derived Forms

• ˌilleˈgality, noun
• ilˈlegally, adverb

Other Words From

• il·legal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of illegal¹

From the Medieval Latin word illēgālis, dating back to 1620–30. See il- ², legal

Synonym Study

Illegal, unlawful, illegitimate, illicit, criminal can all describe actions not in accord with law. Illegal refers most specifically to violations of statutes or, in organized athletics, codified rules: an illegal seizure of property; an illegal block ( in football ). Unlawful means not sanctioned by or according to law: an unlawful claim to the inheritance; to take unlawful advantage of the trading situation. Illegitimate means lacking legal or traditional right or rights: an illegitimate child; illegitimate use of privileged knowledge. Illicit, which originally meant simply “not permitted,” now most often applies to matters regulated by law with specific emphasis on the way things are carried out: illicit conversion of property; an illicit attempt to control the market. Criminal most often refers to violation of the statutes of penal as opposed to civil law. All felonies are criminal as are all crimes sometimes punishable by death such as murder, arson, and kidnapping: a criminal act.

Example Sentences

Record fires in the Pantanal region this summer are also linked to illegal land-clearing for agriculture, which doubled in the first half of the year, Federal University of Mato Grosso ecologist Leticia Couto Garcia told Unearthed.

From Vox

The foundation supplies them with legal support as well as technological equipment and training so they can use smartphones, drones, and satellites to monitor illegal loggers and miners, and take action to stop them.

From Vox

Right now in New York that’s illegal, but I think One Fair Wage has been pushing that fight, and I think maybe now, maybe the industry will be more open to something like that.

From Ozy

He projects that reliable clonal stocks could increase yields by 30 to 50 percent, drastically reducing the pressure for illegal forest clearing.

From Nautilus

Despite the rise of streaming as the primary mode of music consumption globally, illegal music download sites have remained a major source for most users across Africa.

From Quartz

Watching him now being accused of illegal operations will not see them shedding any tears.

From The Daily Beast

In March, police arrested a group of wealthy businessmen and government officials who were about to dine on illegal tiger meat.

From The Daily Beast

But millions of rules result in perpetual error, and, as a terminal side effect, make leadership and accomplishment illegal.

From The Daily Beast

Many more illegal migrants face labor trafficking in Europe as they flee the conflict regions of North Africa and the Middle East.

From The Daily Beast

This would take time since, under current law, even scouting Cuban baseball players on the island is illegal.

From The Daily Beast

He accuses the latter of various illegal and crafty acts, among them sending contraband gold and jewels to Mexico.

From Project Gutenberg

These illegal combinations in America were obviously what caused the inconveniences of which the merchants complained.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet all this was beside the main point, which was that the action of Congress, whether expedient or not, was illegal.

From Project Gutenberg

Some of the members felt that Parliament had the right to tax the colonists and others felt that it was illegal for them to do so.

From Project Gutenberg

Poor Nora hung her head as she asked in a low voice if Jim really thought her father was engaged in illegal practices.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• banned
• criminal
• illegitimate
• illicit
• irregular
• outlawed
• prohibited
• smuggled
• unauthorized
• unconstitutional
• unlawful
• unlicensed
• unwarranted
• wrongful