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illegal

[ih-lee-guh

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

forbidden by law or statute.

contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations, etc.: The referee ruled that it was an illegal forward pass.

noun

Informal. illegal alien.

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Illegal is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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Origin:
1620–30; < Medieval Latin illēgālis. See il-², legal

Related forms

il·le·gal·ly, adverb

Can be confused: illegal, illicit (see synonym note at the current entry).

Synonyms
1. unlawful; illegitimate; illicit; unlicensed. Illegal, unlawful, illegitimate, illicit, criminal can all describe actions not in accord with law. Illegal refers most specifically to violations of statutes or, in organized athletics, codified rules: an illegal seizure of property; an illegal block (in football). Unlawful means not sanctioned by or according to law: an unlawful claim to the inheritance; to take unlawful advantage of the trading situation. Illegitimate means lacking legal or traditional right or rights: an illegitimate child; illegitimate use of privileged knowledge. Illicit, which originally meant simply “not permitted,” now most often applies to matters regulated by law with specific emphasis on the way things are carried out: illicit conversion of property; an illicit attempt to control the market. Criminal most often refers to violation of the statutes of penal as opposed to civil law. All felonies are criminal as are all crimes sometimes punishable by death such as murder, arson, and kidnapping: a criminal act.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To illegal

Example Sentences

Illegal immigration is an all-purpose policy explosive.

The main alternative source of illegal income, numbers betting, has been largely destroyed by legalisation.

They face habitat loss, illegal hunting for skins and other body parts, and retaliatory killing when they prey on livestock.

EXPAND

Illegal immigration is an all-purpose policy explosive.

The main alternative source of illegal income, numbers betting, has been largely destroyed by legalisation.

They face habitat loss, illegal hunting for skins and other body parts, and retaliatory killing when they prey on livestock.

Dog proves better than lab tests at detecting illegal sewage.

Accurate data about the illegal trade in animals and plants are hard to come by.

It is illegal to harvest many native plants from the wild.

The idea is to stop illegal immigration in the workplace, not at the border.

The country has little reason to worry about illegal immigration.

Yet even when officials spot adesmatamento, or illegal clearing, they are usually hamstrung by a lack of manpower or equipment.

Illegal trade in endangered species continues to grow around the world.

Gas stations are illegal within city limits as are neon signs and billboards.

Excessive pollen has made these illegal in some desert jurisdictions.

Both sides agree, however, that it's illegal to listen in on cordless phones.

The whole immigration dispute going on right now is over illegal immigration.

Lastly, illegal wildlife hunting and trading continues with little or no law enforcement.

It is well known that musicians suffer greatly due to illegal downloading of their music.

Scientists can request bits of lunar material to study, but it's illegal to own or sell any of it.

Excessive pollen has made these illegal in some desert jurisdictions add to my plant list.

In recent years, politicians have focused on border control and keeping out illegal immigrants.

The government is now cracking down on the illegal miners.

Laundered money is one illegal item which is regularly smuggled across the border.

One has to opt for riding on the sidewake, which is often illegal.

People sometimes allow their livestock to graze in the reserve itself, though it is illegal.

The search engine giant discloses that it may have issued millions of shares of illegal stock over the last several years.

Yet even when of?cials spot a desmatamento, or illegal clearing, they are usually hamstrung by a lack of manpower or equipment.

Those engaging in illegal activities are responsible.

To showcase stolen pieces aids and abets a filthy, violent and illegal business.

Depending on where you are in the world, there are a few different things that make pirate broadcasts illegal.

The researchers say the tribe's territory is threatened by illegal logging.

And this estimate does not even include the revenues made by illegal copying and other forms of piracy.

It would be illegal for them to copy and paste the study here.

And that right there may be why it was made illegal in the first place.

Discrimination by health insurance companies on the basis of genetics is already illegal.

Tonight's topic: the effects that illegal drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine have on the brain.

Yes, this guy solved his town's illegal parking problemswith a tank.

They are more prized for trophy value and in many states, shooting animals without antlers is illegal or restricted.

Regulatory bodies have failed to set sufficiently strict catch quotas, and illegal fishing is rampant.

Around the world carnivorous plants are on the decline, the victims of habitat loss, illegal poaching and pollution.

Illegal fishing raises the catch totals even higher.

Readers respond to a recent news article about laws in southern states targeting illegal immigrants.

Discrimination against age or nationality is also illegal.

Demand for pets and medicines drives illegal trafficking.

Louis, it is illegal to sit on a curb of any street and drink beer from a bucket.

Thanks to e-commerce, illegal animal trading is global and.

Following is a list of major illegal drugs, how they are used, their popular names and the effects.

The legislation would allow states to charge illegal immigrant in-state tuition.

Bigamy is illegal almost everywhere for good reason.

She was intrigued by its warren of brothels and other illegal businesses.

In many towns that have enacted laws to target illegal immigrants, substantial consequences have followed.

But critics say the measure would reward illegal behavior and encourage more immigration.

Even if none of them leave, every single illegal will be gone in a hundred years.

The lure of fast money keeps illegal dogfighting rings in business.

The workplace is the one place that is virtually unpoliced for illegal immigrants.

I've heard that sometimes interviewers will ask illegal and.

The price of an illegal substance is determined more by the cost of distribution than of production.

Illegal online trade of live primates and body parts from protected species is running a brisk business, a new report reveals.

Makers of business applications are losing big bucks to illegal copying of their programs, the latest survey shows.

Even more reason to grill in the park: it's illegal to grill on your fire escape.

People found ways to get around the ban on booze and whole illegal industries flourished.

They are intended for illegal immigrants, who have often been.

Examine illegal immigration as both drug smugglers and job seekers attempt to cross the border.

The bill would have punished employers who hire illegal immigrants and authorized the police to make arrests.

It is in fact illegal in many states for a manager to reveal an employee's.

During the amnesty illegal immigrants could register to legalise themselves.

Hundreds of people could be seen making illegal excavations at many places.

If meat were treated simply on its' environmental impact its' production would be made illegal.

There should be a law that makes it illegal to put cilantro into anyone's food without their expressed permission.

Those rules require that colleges devise a campuswide plan for addressing illegal movie and music downloading on their campuses.

It is true that illegal immigrants are often trapped in a semi-criminalised shadow economy, unable to move up or out.

One of the issues seems to be that illegal logging operations maintain a near monopsony over the labor market in the rain forest.

Clearly the illegal immigrants will end up in the low wage state.

But it wasn't an illegal immigrant in search of a job-it was.

Time to make having a brain illegal then i guess haha.

The state's efforts to reduce legitimate lending to cool the economy mean that illegal borrowing is likely to have grown.

Poachers hack off the animal's face to remove its ivory tusks-which are all the illegal hunters value-and leave the.

The researchers said they were also concerned about siltation of the reefs from illegal logging in adjacent areas.

Probably because our justice system is imperfect, oh and torture is illegal.

We managed to get the shot, but illegal loggers have since damaged it.

Investigate the illegal and growing global black market in body parts.

Growing or possession is still illegal under federal law.

The gorillas are juveniles, aged two to seven years, rescued from illegal trade.

His point of view is that he destroys property used in illegal activity.

It is illegal to sell out children and ecosystems for profit.

In parts of the world, the illegal pet trade and medicine trades are huge and can have widespread effects.

It has to become illegal to drive any gas powered vehicle.

Troopers set out a decoy sting to catch illegal hunting practices in action.

Orangutans are also killed for the illegal wildlife trade.

Someday, the country will recognize the true cost of its war on illegal immigration.

We have set up a forum for stories of illegal immigration.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

illegal (ɪˈliːɡ^əl)

—*adj*
1.	forbidden by law; unlawful; illicit
2.	unauthorized or prohibited by a code of official or accepted rules

—n
3.	a person who has entered or attempted to enter a country illegally

il'legally

—*adv*

ille'gality

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

illegal

1626, from M.L. illegalis, from L. in- "not" (with assimilation of -n- to the following consonant) + legalis (see legal). Term illegal immigrant first recorded 1939 in ref. to Jews entering Palestine without authorization during the British mandate.

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