plural illegals
often disparaging + offensive
: a person who enters or lives in a country without the documentation required for legal entry or residence
Examples of illegal in a Sentence
Adjective
In this state, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to drink alcohol.
The team was penalized for an illegal play.
Recent Examples on the Web
George Jahn,
The Seattle Times,
24 June 2017
Still, undercover illegals have been discovered in the United States as recently as June 2010, when 10 alleged spies were arrested by the FBI in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Arlington, Va.
—
Harrison Smith,
Washington Post,
21 June 2017
Marco stood today, standing on this stage Marco supports legalization and citizenship for 12 million illegals.
—
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2016
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Noun
And beyond stripping illegals of Austrian citizenship, Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka of the centrist People’s Party is proposing hefty fines and other punitive measures.
—
George Jahn,
The Seattle Times,
24 June 2017
Still, undercover illegals have been discovered in the United States as recently as June 2010, when 10 alleged spies were arrested by the FBI in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Arlington, Va.
—
Harrison Smith,
Washington Post,
21 June 2017
Marco stood today, standing on this stage Marco supports legalization and citizenship for 12 million illegals.
—
New York Times,
15 Jan. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Illegal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illegal. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
illegal
adjective
il·le·gal
il-ˈlē-gəl 
illegally
adverb
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