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# unlawful

«unlawful» in Mova's school dictionary: **Not allowed by law; against the law; illegal** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (unlawful) — formal

### meaning for a pupil

Not allowed by law; against the law; illegal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In formal language, news and law, «unlawful» means illegal: unlawful killing, unlawful entry. In citizenship and safety lessons, it helps to understand that some actions break the law. Adverb: unlawfully.

### examples

- It is unlawful to sell alcohol to children. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/#x1)
- The judge said the arrest was unlawful. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/#x2)
- Unlawful entry means going into a building without the right to. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/#x3)
- The court called the sacking unlawful. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/#x4)
- Dumping rubbish in the river is unlawful. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/#x5)
- He was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/#x6)

### note

Same as illegal but more formal. Opposite: lawful, legal. Do not write «unlegal».

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «unlawful» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlawful/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.