How to Use lawful in a Sentence

lawful

adjective
  • The form must be authorized by the debtor to be lawful.
    — Molly Stellino, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2022
  • Many lives can be saved by doing the lawful and right thing.
    — Star Tribune, 25 Nov. 2020
  • Many of the state’s voters still don’t think the order was lawful.
    — James Freeman, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2021
  • The three-judge panel found Ridgell's cannabis use was lawful and did not amount to child neglect.
    — Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 6 Jan. 2023
  • While the facts are sordid, NDAs are lawful and common.
    — The Editors, National Review, 29 May 2024
  • The three-judge panel found Ridgell's cannabis use was lawful and did not amount to child neglect.
    — Mary Jo Pitzl, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2023
  • Two courts in Washington are still weighing in on whether the efforts to shut out the AP are lawful.
    — Ella Lee, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025
  • There is no question that Trump is the lawful president of the United States right now.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2020
  • The group therefore predicts that the number of lawful instances could pass 1 million at some point in the next three years.
    — Alicia Chen, Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2022
  • Often the police are acting in ways that courts have deemed lawful.
    — Arkansas Online, 17 Apr. 2021
  • His lawful and just sentence must be carried out as ordered by the court.
    — Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Despite the frontier ambience, the mood in town was lawful that day.
    — New York Times, 27 Oct. 2021
  • But even as the justices agreed that the sentence was lawful, the decision was fractured.
    — Derek Hawkins, Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2020
  • For many, these fees put a lawful purchase beyond reach.
    — Cody J. Wisniewski, National Review, 16 July 2021
  • The City's vaccine mandates are lawful and keep New Yorkers safe.
    — Clare Hymes, CBS News, 26 Oct. 2021
  • Both sides will file more briefs before a hearing in February when the court will rule on whether the rules are lawful or not.
    — Dario Sabaghi, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
  • The court did not rule on whether the probationary firings were lawful.
    — Andrea Hsu, NPR, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Government meetings, to be lawful, must be held in public and be open to all.
    — cleveland, 10 Apr. 2020
  • After 13 men were charged in connection with the plot, Leaf said some of their actions could have been lawful.
    — Sara Sidner, CNN, 14 Oct. 2020
  • The trial court ruled that an agreement that waived those right was not lawful — a victory for the couple.
    — Crystal Hill, Indianapolis Star, 3 Dec. 2019
  • As Russia tries to stem the wild antler trade, hunting of wild reindeer continues—and not all of it is lawful.
    — Alec Luhn, National Geographic, 12 Aug. 2020
  • Why 'rent-to-buy' doesn't hold up in court At issue was whether the agreement reached between Rainbow and the couple was lawful.
    — Crystal Hill, Indianapolis Star, 3 Dec. 2019
  • Peterson also said the county still contends the actions of the board were lawful and valid.
    — Nora O’Neill, Charlotte Observer, 14 May 2025
  • Rhodes and the others stand accused of conspiring to use force to oppose the lawful transfer of power to Joe Biden.
    — Spencer S. Hsu, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Sep. 2022
  • In the lawsuit, Grayson said the city had entered a lawful contract and needed Porter to carry out her duties.
    — Arielle Kass, ajc, 23 July 2021
  • Also, be familiar with what species of bait is lawful to catch and keep when cast netting.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 4 Jan. 2024
  • Defense lawyers claimed the techniques the men used were lawful and akin to competitive bluffing in a high-stakes card game.
    — Janan Hanna, Bloomberg.com, 15 Sep. 2020
  • The city's lawyers said emergency order was lawful and part of the goal of the curfew was to protect police officers from the virus.
    — Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 9 Sep. 2020
  • This warrant grants immigration officials the right to arrest someone the agency suspects is a non-citizen who does not have a lawful right to be in the country, Pérez said.
    — Calista Oetama, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2025
  • The law imposes strict compliance obligations on both domestic and foreign issuers, including the ability to freeze or seize assets in response to lawful orders.
    — Becca Bratcher, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lawful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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