illegal

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See also: illégal and il·legal

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin legalis, by surface analysis, il- +‎ legal. In senses relating to immigration, via clipping from illegal alien or illegal immigrant.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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illegal (comparative more illegal, superlative most illegal)

  1. Not authorized by law.
  2. Contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law.
    This is illegal, you know!
    Nearly 40 million people live in UK areas with illegal air pollution
    their illegal mining operations in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, are protected by officials and police paid to look the other way – and powerful customers in the construction industry who prefer not to ask too many questions.
    • a. 1654, John Selden, “Money”, in Table-Talk, 3rd edition, London: Jacob Tonson, published 1716, page 74:
      In all times the Princes in England have done ſomething illegal to get Money: But then came a Parliament and all was well, the People and the Prince kiſt and were Friends, and ſo things were quiet for a while.
    • 2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:
      Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.
  3. Breaching certain enacted statutes of positive law; not lawful, not legal (cf. immoral, unethical)
  4. Forbidden by established rules.
    Synonym: unethical
    Moving a pawn backward is an illegal move in chess.
  5. (philately, of an issue printed for collectors) Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
  6. (of a person, sometimes offensive) Being or doing something illegally.
    illegal immigrant
    illegal logger
    illegal pilot
  7. (chiefly US, sometimes offensive) Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally.
  8. (computing) Describing a programming operation that is not allowed by the operating system.

Usage notes

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According to Black's Law Dictionary (2nd edition), "illegal" may mean only that something lacks authority of the law or support from law (that is, that it's not legal), not that it's against the law, but that in ordinary usage it means a violation of the law. The "law" however may be a common-law principle rather than a statute.

The use of "illegal" to describe a person rather than an action is often regarded as offensive; see below.[1]

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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illegal (plural illegals)

  1. (obsolete) An illegal act or technique.
    • c. 1650, John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in Scotland, from the Year 1624 to 1645, volume II, Aberdeen: T. Evans, published 1792, pages 72–73:
      That whatſoever illegals hath been uſed againſt his friends and ſubjects, by impriſoning them without law, or impoſing fines upon their eſtates, be diſclaimed, and that perſons ſo committed be forthwith diſcharged.
  2. (colloquial, in the plural, as illegals) Contraband, esp. illegal substances such as drugs.
    • 2004, “Reapercussions”, in Dead Like Me, season 1, episode 4, spoken by Mason (Callum Blue):
      …I've got illegals in my bottom…!
    • 2008, J. D. Robb [pseudonym; Nora Roberts], Strangers in Death, Penguin, →ISBN:
      “Here’s what I could do,” Eve supposed. “I could slap your head against that wall, while I’m kicking your balls into your belly,” she added to the companion. “And after that, I can have you in restraints while I turn out your pockets. You’re carrying illegals.
  3. (colloquial, offensive) An illegal immigrant.
    • 2024 August 1, Josh Halliday, Neha Gohil, “Police in England urged to protect mosques as far right plans more rallies”, in the Guardian‎[5]:
      In Manchester and in Aldershot in Hampshire, asylum seeker accommodation was targeted by demonstrators carrying placards that read “deport them, don’t support them” and “no apartments for illegals”.
  4. (espionage) A spy operating abroad illegally and under non-official cover, without visible ties to his or her country’s authorities.
    • 2012, Christopher Andrew, ‘Colder War’, Literary Review, number 399:
      Anna Chapman, whose glamorous appearance won her more publicity in the Western media than all the other illegals combined, was so successfully deceived by a US sting operation that she handed over her SVR laptop to an FBI agent posing as a Russian.
    • 2022 August 26, Shaun Walker, “Socialite who charmed Nato staff in Naples was Russian spy, say investigators”, in The Guardian‎[6]:
      Traditionally, illegals have been extremely hard for counterintelligence agencies to find, but in a world of biometric data, facial recognition software and open source investigation possibilities, it has become harder for Russia to keep its illegals below the radar.

Usage notes

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  • The use of "illegal" to describe a person, rather than an action a person has undertaken, is regarded by some as offensive.[2][3][4] The use of "illegal" as a noun is especially charged.[1]

Synonyms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Archived copy”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎[1], 2013 July 22 (last accessed), archived from the original on 5 June 2013
  2. ^ Charles Garcia (2012 July 5) “Why 'illegal immigrant' is a slur”, in Special to CNN‎[2], CNN:
    When you label someone an "illegal alien" or "illegal immigrant" or just plain "illegal," you are effectively saying the individual, as opposed to the actions the person has taken, is unlawful. The terms imply the very existence of an unauthorized migrant in America is criminal. In this country, there is still a presumption of innocence that requires a jury to convict someone of a crime. If you don't pay your taxes, are you an illegal? What if you get a speeding ticket? A murder conviction? No. You're still not an illegal. Even alleged terrorists and child molesters aren't labeled illegals.
  3. ^ Jacob Chamberlain (2013 April 13) “AP Finally Agrees: “No Human Being is Illegal””, in Common Dreams‎[3]
  4. ^ Steve Padilla and Selene Rivera (2016 April 3) “Library of Congress to stop using term 'illegal alien'”, in Los Angeles Times‎[4]

Anagrams

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Asturian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Medieval Latin illēgālis, from Latin lēgālis corresponding to i- +‎ llegal.

Adjective

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illegal (epicene, plural illegales)

  1. illegal

Antonyms

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Danish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Medieval Latin illegalis.

Adjective

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illegal

  1. illegal

Inflection

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Inflection of illegal
Positive Comparative Superlative
Indefinte common singular illegal — —2
Indefinite neuter singular illegalt — —2
Plural illegale — —2
Definite attributive1 illegale — —
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Synonyms

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German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Medieval Latin illegalis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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illegal (strong nominative masculine singular illegaler, not comparable)

  1. illegal
    Synonyms: gesetzwidrig, strafbar, ungesetzlich

Declension

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Positive forms of illegal (uncomparable)
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist illegal sie ist illegal es ist illegal sie sind illegal
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative illegaler illegale illegales illegale
genitive illegalen illegaler illegalen illegaler
dative illegalem illegaler illegalem illegalen
accusative illegalen illegale illegales illegale
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der illegale die illegale das illegale die illegalen
genitive des illegalen der illegalen des illegalen der illegalen
dative dem illegalen der illegalen dem illegalen den illegalen
accusative den illegalen die illegale das illegale die illegalen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein illegaler eine illegale ein illegales (keine) illegalen
genitive eines illegalen einer illegalen eines illegalen (keiner) illegalen
dative einem illegalen einer illegalen einem illegalen (keinen) illegalen
accusative einen illegalen eine illegale ein illegales (keine) illegalen

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “illegal” in Duden online
  • “illegal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Occitan

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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illegal m (feminine singular illegala, masculine plural illegals, feminine plural illegalas)

  1. illegal
    Antonym: legal

Derived terms

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Portuguese

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Adjective

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illegal m or f (plural illegaes)

  1. Obsolete spelling of ilegal.

Swedish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illēgālis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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illegal (comparative mer illegal, superlative mest illegal)

  1. illegal
    Synonym: olaglig
    Antonym: legal

Declension

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Inflection of illegal
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular illegal mer illegal mest illegal
Neuter singular illegalt mer illegalt mest illegalt
Plural illegala mer illegala mest illegala
Masculine plural3 illegale mer illegala mest illegala
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 illegale mer illegale mest illegale
All illegala mer illegala mest illegala
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
3) Dated or archaic
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See also

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Further reading

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