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 any law.
  • adjective Prohibited by law; unlawful, illegal.
  • adjective Not restrained by the law or by discipline; 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

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