as in illegality
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Recent Examples of unlawfulness
But in a court-martial, a service member who argues that an order is unlawful has the burden of proving its unlawfulness.
—
Joshua Kastenberg, The Conversation, 16 Dec. 2025
Many people at Harvard and elsewhere feared that the university would reach a deal with the Administration before Judge Burroughs’s decision, because that would have meant that no court would declare the unlawfulness of the Administration’s actions toward academic institutions.
—Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
Joshua Kastenberg, The Conversation, 16 Dec. 2025
Many people at Harvard and elsewhere feared that the university would reach a deal with the Administration before Judge Burroughs’s decision, because that would have meant that no court would declare the unlawfulness of the Administration’s actions toward academic institutions.
—Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlawfulness
Noun
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While lower prices are welcome news for consumers, cannabis businesses have had difficulty making money due to high financing and operating costs, and an inability to take normal business tax deductions due to the drug’s illegality under federal law.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
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Speaking out in that way is not illegality.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In the 1980s and 1990s, the figure of the addict abruptly shifted from being considered deserving of medical treatment to being seen as an emblem of incurable criminality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
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Durov was arrested in France in 2024 and charged with enabling various forms of criminality on his app.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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During the men’s Euros in 2024, police forces reported 351 incidents of domestic abuse as being football-related.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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The abuse allegations were reported to local law enforcement, said Lauren Fisher Flores, the lawyer representing the girl.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The lawlessness afoot in Venezuela’s capital city is vibrantly captured in this gripping adaptation of Karina Sainz Borgo’s novel from the filmmaking team behind Bad Hair (Festival 2014).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 Apr. 2026
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However, using lawlessness, chaos and destruction to make a cultural point will forever remain a hallmark of 21st-century Democrats.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Forty-seven years of extortion, corruption, and death will finally end.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2026
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Though Guelleh has presided over economic growth during his time as president, economic benefits have not fully trickled down, and much of the population remains mired in poverty; this economic inequality is due in part to corruption and patronage.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unlawfulness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlawfulness. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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