Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Unrestrained by law; unruly.
- adjective Contrary to the law; unlawful.
- adjective Not governed by law.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Not subject or not submissive to law; uncontrolled by law, whether natural, human, or divine; licentious; unruly; ungoverned: as, lawless passions; a lawless tyrant or brigand.
- Contrary to law; opposed to the laws of the land or of order; illegal; disorderly: as, a lawless claim; lawless proceedings.
- Destitute of law; not conformable to rule or reason; abnormal; anomalous: as, lawless eccentricities; lawless prosody.
- Deprived of legal rights; beyond the pale of the law.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Contrary to, or unauthorized by, law; illegal.
- adjective Not subject to, or restrained by, the law of morality or of society.
- adjective Not subject to the laws of nature; uncontrolled.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Not
governed by anylaw . - adjective
Prohibited by law;unlawful ,illegal . - adjective Not
restrained by the law or bydiscipline ;unruly ,disorderly .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective lax in enforcing laws
- adjective without law or control
- adjective disobedient to or defiant of law
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word lawless.
Examples
-
POGGIOLI: A recent report by the International Crisis group think tank says Kosovo appears to be run by what it calls a lawless political elite in control of every aspect of society.
-
POGGIOLI: A recent report by the International Crisis group think tank says Kosovo appears to be run by what it calls a lawless political elite in control of every aspect of society.
-
POGGIOLI: A recent report by the International Crisis group think tank says Kosovo appears to be run by what it calls a lawless political elite in control of every aspect of society.
-
“There is no excuse for missing to pay salaries to soldiers in lawless eastern Congo for six months” said Sekombo.
Global Voices in English » Disabled Congolese Find Ways to Thrive 2009
-
A brilliant analysis by Chris Winter, to wit, any Ph.D. that feels that he is not getting sufficient accolades for his murky research has the right to engage in lawless behavior.
James Hansen Arrested for Obstruction and Impeding Traffic - NASA Watch 2009
-
POGGIOLI: A recent report by the International Crisis group think tank says Kosovo appears to be run by what it calls a lawless political elite in control of every aspect of society.
-
I'm not sure if she used the word lawless but the word coup was certainly used.
-
This will come as "irregular activity" such as terrorism, organised crime and "white companies" of mercenaries burgeon in lawless areas.
Questions, questions… Richard 2006
-
You believe its OK for HBO to engage in lawless mob rule or vigilantism?
HBO: The Vigilantes 2005
-
Upon the whole we may see here how foolish it is to seek to dispose of Gnosticism with the phrase lawless fancies.
History of Dogma, Volume 1 (of 7) Adolph Harnack 1890
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.