illegal
illegal Lexical Profile
illegal Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal or statutory law.
"It is illegal to drive a motor vehicle without a valid license."
Not permitted by the official rules of a sport, game, or computing system.
"The referee penalized the defender for making an illegal tackle near the goal line."
• noun
A foreign national who is living or working in a country without official authorization or legal status (often considered offensive).
"Advocacy groups criticized the broadcast for referring to undocumented workers as illegals."
An intelligence operative who lives and works under a false identity in a foreign country without diplomatic cover or official protection.
"During the Cold War, the intelligence agency trained deep-cover illegals to blend seamlessly into foreign communities."
Word Nuance & Usage
While "illegal" and "unlawful" both mean contrary to the law, "illegal" specifically refers to actions prohibited by official statutes, whereas "illicit" often includes broader moral or social prohibitions. Used as a noun to refer to an undocumented immigrant, "illegal" is widely considered derogatory and dehumanizing in formal and journalistic writing.
• Rhymes for illegal
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 16th century from Middle French illégal or Medieval Latin illegalis, formed from the assimilative negative prefix il- ('not') and legalis ('pertaining to the law'), from Latin lex ('law').