Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Unrestrained by law; unruly: a lawless mob.
- adj. Contrary to the law; unlawful: the lawless slaughter of protected species.
- adj. Not governed by law: the lawless frontier.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- 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.
Wiktionary
- adj. Not governed by any law.
- adj. Prohibited by law; unlawful, illegal.
- adj. Not restrained by the law or by discipline; unruly, disorderly.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Contrary to, or unauthorized by, law; illegal.
- adj. Not subject to, or restrained by, the law of morality or of society.
- adj. Not subject to the laws of nature; uncontrolled.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. lax in enforcing laws
- adj. without law or control
- adj. disobedient to or defiant of law
Examples
““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
“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.”
“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
“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.”
“You believe its OK for HBO to engage in lawless mob rule or vigilantism?”
“Upon the whole we may see here how foolish it is to seek to dispose of Gnosticism with the phrase lawless fancies.”
“A Mail on Sunday photographer had £8,000 worth of equipment robbed by a gang during what was described as a "lawless" scene near Bruce Grove in Tottenham.”
“If you teabaggers want to take some of the “stigma” out of these rag-tag lawless anarchistic so-called “militias,” you might start by disbanding them.”
“Stang was shot repeatedly in February 2005 while working in the town of Anapu in Para, often described as a lawless, frontier state where deforestation has become common.”
The Huffington Post: Nuns Hail Conviction Of Rancher In U.S. Nun Killing
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