Illegal

Definition: Illegal

Illegal

Adjective

1. Prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules; "an illegal chess move".

Date "illegal" was first used: 1626. (references)

Antonym: legal (adj). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Illegality	Adjective: illegal, unlawful, illegitimate; not allowed, prohibited; illicit, contraband; actionable.
Prohibition	Prohibited; Verb: not permitted; unlicensed, contraband, impermissible, under the ban of; illegal; unauthorized, not to be thought of, uncountenanced, unthinkable, beyond the pale.
Undueness	Adjective: undue; unlawful; (illegal); unconstitutional; illicit; unauthorized, unwarranted, disallowed, unallowed, unsanctioned, unjustified; unentitled, disentitled, unqualified, disqualified; unprivileged, unchartered.
Wrong	Objectionable; unreasonable, unallowable, unwarrantable, unjustifiable; improper, unfit; unjustified; illegal; iniquitous; immoral.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	We would have injected vitamin C if only they had made it illegal! (Trainspotting; writing credit: Irvine Welsh; John Hodge) Sure she's a great piece of tail with a blouse full of goodies, but it's just illegal. Then you get into that whole inbred thing. (Hot Shots!; writing credit: Jim Abrahams; Pat Proft) No, there's nothing illegal about any of this. (Clue; writing credit: Jonathan Lynn.) Harry, this is illegal man (Armageddon; writing credit: Robert Roy Pool; Jonathan Hensleigh) Can I just state very clearly I can't be part of anything illegal. (The American President; writing credit: Aaron Sorkin)
Lyrics	It's illegal bout the plants in my backyard grow, that's my bud ("Saturday (Oooh! Oooh!)"; performing artist: Ludacris)
Clever	Mind like a steel trap: rusty and illegal in most states. (references; author: unknown) If voting could really change things, it would be illegal. (references; author: unknown) Some people are only alive because it is illegal to shoot them. (references; author: unknown)
Movie/TV Titles	Illegal Abortion (1966) Strictly Illegal (1935) Illegal (1932)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	Coyotes: A Journey Through the Secret World of America's Illegal Aliens (reference) Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and American Labor (reference) Illegal Aliens (reference) Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse (reference) Illegal Procedure (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	Illegal Entry (reference) Illegal in Blue (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	Illegal Edged: Music of José Halac (reference) Illegal Stills (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech	Midnight Outlaw Illegal Street Racing (reference) (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Big Wood River lava tube illegal dumpingShoshone Field OfficeUSRDUpper Snake River District.Credit: Tim Fuller.		Illegal dumpsite clean-up in Pueblo Mountain WSA. Over 100 dump truck loads truck. (WSA 2-81).Credit: Scott Moore.
	Red Mountain WSA with an illegal dump near Cottonwood Creek. (WSA 2-78).Credit: Scott Moore.		Pueblo Mountain WSA, illegal dumpsite cleanup with over 100 dump truck loads removed. (WSA 2-81).Credit: Scott Moore.
	Illegal dump site in the Saddle Butte Wilderness Study Area. OR 3-111.Credit: Conrad.		The Price Of Illegal Drugs Has Just Gone Up.Credit: National Library of Medicine.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Alexander Woollcott	All the things I really like to do are either immoral, illegal, or fattening.
Henry Kissinger	The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Author	Date	Quotation
John Locke	1690	But yet opposition may be made to the illegal acts of any inferior officer, or other commissioned by him; unless he will, by actually putting himself into a state of war with his people, dissolve the government, and leave them to that defence which belongs to every one in the state of nature: for of such things who can tell what the end will be? and a neighbour kingdom has shewed the world an odd example. (Second Treatise of Government)
Amendment to US Constitution	1795-1993	But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. (reference)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Marijuana is the illegal drug most often used in this country. (references)
		A common method of illegal methamphetamine production uses lead acetate as a reagent. (references)
		A history of using certain prescription drugs or illegal drugs can suggest a chemical cause. (references)
Business		Independent trade unions are illegal. (references)
		Bribes cannot be deducted from taxes, because they are illegal. (references)
		During the action, police seized illegal recordings, paraphernalia, and weapons. (references)
Children	Gambia	Incest also is illegal. (references)
	Ghana	Child prostitution, although illegal, also exists. (references)
	Mozambique	Sexual abuse of a child under 16 also is illegal under the Penal Code. (references)
Civil Liberties	Syria	Travel to Israel is illegal. (references)
	China	Those that did not were declared illegal. (references)
	Morocco	Any attempt to induce a Muslim to convert is illegal. (references)
Discrimination	Hong Kong	Three pieces of antidiscrimination legislation--the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, and the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance--have made it illegal for any person or entity (public or private) to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, or family status, and prohibits behavior such as sexual harassment, harassment or vilification on the grounds of disability, and discriminatory advertising. (references)
Economic History	Nicaragua	Bribery is illegal in Nicaragua. (references)
	Uruguay	Sympathy strikes are not illegal. (references)
Human Rights	Bahamas	Exile is illegal and is not practiced. (references)
	Ecuador	Wiretapping is illegal but it does occur. (references)
	Malaysia	Access to illegal alien detention camps is restricted. (references)
Indigenous People	Bolivia	Specific offenders allegedly are illegal coca growers and timber pirates. (references)
	India	There has been encroachment on tribal land in almost every eastern state, including by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, and by businesses that illegally have removed forest and mineral products. (references)
	Venezuela	The Yanomami, among the most isolated of the indigenous people, have been subjected to persistent incursions into their territory by illegal gold miners, who have introduced both diseases and social ills. (references)
Minorities	Fiji	The minority Chinese community continued to grow, primarily through illegal immigration. (references)
	Israel and the occupied territories	New building in the unrecognized villages is considered illegal and subject to demolition. (references)
	Saudi Arabia	Although racial discrimination is illegal, there is substantial societal prejudice based on ethnic or national origin. (references)
Political Economy	PAKISTAN	Illegal bonded labor is widespread. (references)
	BOLIVIA	Wage employment for children under 14 is illegal. (references)
	Honduras	On occasion the authorities conducted illegal searches. (references)
Political Rights	Iraq	Opposition political organizations are illegal and severely suppressed. (references)
	Iraq	These political groups continued to attract support despite their illegal status. (references)
	Ukraine	Presidential candidates complained about the presidential administration's dominance over the media and the illegal involvement of state officials in Kuchma's campaign. (references)
Trade	Burma	Labor unions are illegal in Burma. (references)
	Sri Lanka	Imports of illegal drugs are prohibited. (references)
	Trinidad	Illegal narcotics and Negative List items without an import license are prohibited. (references)
Travel	Vietnam	It is technically illegal to set prices or accept payment in US dollars. (references)
	Nigeria	Any invitation to enter Nigeria without a visa is indicative of illegal activity. (references)
	Burma	Newspapers are censored, and Internet access is illegal, except for a few among the ruling elite. (references)
Women	Jordan	Marital rape is not illegal. (references)
	Guyana	Divorce by consent remains illegal. (references)
	Egypt	However, marital rape is not illegal. (references)
Worker Rights	India	Illegal mining is rampant. (references)
	Brunei	However, under the law, strikes are illegal. (references)
	Colombia	These informal mining operations are illegal. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Phrase(s)
Rush Limbaugh	But if the ELF acronym is mostly unfamiliar on the East Coast, it has long been a reference point in the Pacific Northwest for illegal and extreme environmental activism that law enforcement officials call eco-terrorism.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
Thomas Jefferson	1801-1809	Our coasts have been infested and our harbors watched by private armed vessels, some of them without commissions, some with illegal commissions, others with those of legal form, but committing practical acts beyond the authority of their commissions.
Andrew Jackson	1829-1837	Indemnity also has been stipulated for injuries received by our merchants from illegal seizures, and renewed assurances are given that the treaty between the two countries shall be faithfully observed.
Herbert C. Hoover	1929-1933	There would be little traffic in illegal liquor if only criminals patronized it.
Jimmy Carter	1977-1981	As a result of our enforcement policy, the illegal flow from Cuba has been halted and an orderly process has been initiated to make certain that our refugee and immigration laws are honored.
Bill Clinton	1993-2001	We are increasing inspections to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants.
George W. Bush	2001-2005	Stricter border enforcement will help combat illegal drugs.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

"Illegal" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.34% of the time. "Illegal" is used about 2,434 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Adjective (general or positive)	99.34%	2,418	3,705
Noun (proper)	0.66%	16	87,710
Total	100.00%	2,434	N/A

Expressions using "illegal": failure to prevent an illegal publication ♦ illegal alien ♦ illegal arrest ♦ illegal immigrant ♦ illegal proceeding ♦ illegal profit ♦ illegal seizure ♦ illegal strike ♦ illegal trade. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "illegal": illegal-raves.
	Ending with "illegal": newly-illegal, now-illegal.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language		Translations for "illegal"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		ilegjitim (unlawful), i paligjshëm (contraband, illegitimate, illicit, lawless, malfeasant, outlaw, spurious, undue, unlawful), i ndaluar (blocked, contraband, detained, fixed, forbidden, illicit, impermissible, prohibited, stayed, tabu, unallowed, unlawful, unstatutable, unwarranted). (various references)

Arabic		‏غير قانوني, ‏غير شرعي (bootlegger, ill gotten, illegitimate, misbegotten, natural, promiscuous, spurious, unlawful, unnatural, wrongful). (various references)

Bulgarian		незаконен (false, illegitimate, illicit, irregular, lawless, outlaw, secret, supposititious, undue, unlawful, wrongful), нелегален (clandestine, surreptitious). (various references)

Chinese		非法 . (various references)

Czech		ilegální (clandestine, non-legal, underground, unlawful), protiprávní (unlawful), pokoutní (illicit), nezákonný (illegitimate, lawless, unlawful, unstatutory, unwarrantable), nepřípustný (inadmissible, unallowable, undue), nedovolený (illicit, surreptitious, unlawful), èerný (black, dark, ghoulish, grimy, illicit, unlucky). (various references)

Danish		illegal (unlawful). (various references)

Dutch		illegaal (foreign national not in a lawful position, illegal immigrants, unlawful), wederrechtelýk (unlawful), onwettig (unlawful), onwettelýk (unlawful). (various references)

Farsi		نامشروع (Illicit, Unlawful), غیرمجاز (Unallowable, Wildcat), غیرقانونی (Unlawful), حرام (Taboo, Unlawful). (various references)

Finnish		laiton (illicit, unlawful), lainvastainen (contrary to law). (various references)

French		illégal (illicit). (various references)

Frisian		yllegaal (unlawful). (various references)

German		unzulässig (excessive, illegitimate, improper, inadmissible, inadmissibly, unallowable, undue), illegal (illegally, illicit, unlawful, unlawfully). (various references)

Greek		παράνομοσ (illicit, lawless, malfeasant, unlawful), άνομοσ (iniquitous, lawless, nefarious), αθέμιτοσ (illegitimate, illicit, unfair). (various references)

Hawaiian		ilegjitim (unlawful). (various references)

Hebrew		אי חוקי, בלתי חוקי. (various references)

Hungarian		törvénytelen (bastard, illegitimate, misbegotten, unlawful, wrongful), illegális (to barnstorm). (various references)

Indonesian		tidak sah. (various references)

Italian		illegale (lawless, outlaw, unlawful, wrongous, wrongously). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		非合法 (unlawful), 違法 (illegality, unlawfulness), 闇 (black-marketeering, dark, darkness, shady, the dark), イメージ調査 (99.999999999 percent., bad bounce, bad hop, ear protector, ear valve, earmark, earphone, earring, eleven, eleven nines, eraser, eruption, Ile de France, Illinois, illumination, illumination control, illusion, illustrated map, illustration, illustrator, image change, image survey, in, include, income, income gain, income tax, increment, incremental, incremental business, incubate, incubation, incubator, ink, inn, Iran, Iraq, iridium, irony, Iroquois, irrational, irregular, irregular bound, yearbook, year-round fashion). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		ひ�"うほう (unlawful), いほう (bulletin, collection of reports, foreign country, illegality, memory or autograph of deceased, unlawfulness), イリーガル , やみ (black-marketeering, dark, darkness, shady, the dark). (various references)

Korean		불법 (illegitimate, illicit, lawless, unlawful). (various references)

Manx		meelowal (disallow, disallowance, prohibit, proscribe, proscription), anleighalagh (disloyal, illicit). (various references)

Norwegian		ulovig (unlawful). (various references)

Papiamen		ilegítimo (unlawful), ilegal (unlawful). (various references)

Pig Latin		illegalay.(various references)

Portuguese		ilegal (disorganization, illegal alien, illimitable, lawless, nefarious, unlawful, wrongful), ocioso (easy chair, lazy, loll, lounger, Michigan, otiose, slothful, unnecessary). (various references)

Romanian		ilegal (hot, lawless, subterranean, unauthorized by law, underground, unlawful, unlawfully), nelegal (wrongful), conspirativ (clandestine, conspiratorial, conspiring, secret, secretly, subversive, underground), abuziv (abusive, abusively, arbitrary, illegally, improper, improperly, scurrilous). (various references)

Russian		незаконный (adulterine, illegitimate, illicit, outlaw, tortious, unconscionable, unlawful, unwarranted, wildcat). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		ilegalan (underground), nezakonski, nezakonit (illegitimate, lawless, malfeasant, misbegotten, unlawful, wrongful), bespravan. (various references)

Spanish		ilegal (irregular, lawless, unlawful, wet, wrongful). (various references)

Swedish		olaglig (illegitimate, illicit, unlawful, wild, wrongful), olaga (illegitimate, illicit, unlawful, wild, wrongful). (various references)

Turkish		illegal (illicit, unlawful), yasadışı (illegitimate, illicit, pirate, unlawful, wrongful), usulsüz (out of order, undue, unlawful, unmethodical), kanunsuz (illicit, iniquitous, lawless, undue, unlawful), kaçak (absconder, contraband, deserter, escape, escapee, fugitive, furtive, leak, leakage, on the lam, run, runaway, smuggled), gayri meşru (born out of wedlock, illegitimate, misbegotten, out of wedlock, spurious, unjustified, unlawful). (various references)

Turkmen		kanunsyz (lawless, unlawful), gizlin (hidden, secret). (various references)

Ukranian		незаконний (base, bastard, illegitimate, illicit, irregular, lawless, undue, unlawful, unwarranted), нелегальний (clandestine), протизаконний. (various references)

Vietnamese		trái luật (foul), không hợp pháp (adulterine, illegitimate, unlawful). (various references)

Welsh		anghyfreithlon (illegitimate, unlawful). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	in-, inlicita, inlicitam, inlicitis, inlicitum. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "illegal": illegalities, illegality, illegalization, illegalizations, illegalize, illegalized, illegalizes, illegalizing, illegally, illegals. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Illegal" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: alegal, Fillemal, ileal, ileg, ilegal, illegaly, illegar, illegel, Illgill, illigal, llegal, milligals, Ullaval, ulleval, willehalm. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "illegal" (pronounced i'lē"gul)
5	-l ē" g u l	extralegal, legal, paralegal.
4	-ē" g u l	beagle, eagle, regal, Spiegel.
3	-g u l	algal, angle, antifungal, bagel, bangle, bedraggle, boggle, Bogle, boondoggle, bugle, centrifugal, commingle, conjugal, dangle, Dingle, disentangle, entangle, finagle, frugal, fungal, gaggle, giggle, goggle, gurgle, haggle, Ingle, intermingle, jangle, jiggle, jingle, juggle, jungle, Kugel, madrigal, Mangel, mangle, milligal, mingle, mogul, mongol, Ogle, prodigal, rectangle, shingle, single, smuggle, snuggle, Spangle, squiggle, straggle, strangle, struggle, swingle, tangle, tingle, toggle, triangle, untangle, wangle, wiggle, wrangle, wriggle.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-e-g-i-l-l-l"
	-2 letters: agile, glial, ileal, legal.
	-3 letters: egal, gale, gall, gill, glia, ilea, lall, leal.
	-4 letters: age, ail, ale, all, ell, gae, gal, gel, gie, ill, lag, lea, leg, lei, lie.
	-5 letters: ae, ag, ai, al, el, la, li.
	Words containing the letters "a-e-g-i-l-l-l"
	+1 letter: illegals.
	+2 letters: collegial, flagellin, gallflies, gallinule, illegally, labelling.
	+3 letters: flagellins, gallinules, illegality, illegalize, laurelling, shillelagh.
	+4 letters: allegorical, angelically, collegially, elegiacally, flannelling, illegalized, illegalizes, lateralling, paralleling, relabelling, selaginella, shillelaghs, tagliatelle.
	+5 letters: biflagellate, collegiality, collegiately, ecologically, flagellating, flagellation, geologically, illegalities, illegalizing, mislabelling, parallelling, selaginellas, tagliatelles, teleological, wallydraigle.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.