illegal

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.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪˈliːɡəl/
• (US) enPR: ĭ.lē'gəl, IPA^(key): /ɪˈli.ɡəl/, [ɪɫˈli.ɡəɫ]

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Rhymes: -iːɡəl
• Hyphenation: il‧le‧gal

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.

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]

• (forbidden by law): criminal, felonious, illicit, unlawful, irregular
• (totally fictitious): bogus
• (being an illegal immigrant): undocumented

• (antonym(s) of “forbidden by law”): lawful, legal

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.

• 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]

• (illegal immigrant) crimmigrant, illegal immigrant

• gill-ale

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

illegal (epicene, plural illegales)

1. illegal

• llegal

Borrowed from Medieval Latin illegalis.

illegal

1. illegal

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.

• ulovlig, forbudt

Borrowed from Medieval Latin illegalis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪleɡaːl/

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illegal (strong nominative masculine singular illegaler, not comparable)

1. illegal

   Synonyms: gesetzwidrig, strafbar, ungesetzlich

• Illegaler (“illegal / illegal immigrant”), Illegale (“illegal / illegal immigrant (female)”)
• Illegalität

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

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

1. illegal

   Antonym: legal

• illegalament
• illegalizar

illegal m or f (plural illegaes)

1. Obsolete spelling of ilegal.

Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illēgālis.

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illegal (comparative mer illegal, superlative mest illegal)

1. illegal

   Synonym: olaglig

   Antonym: legal

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

• illegalitet

• olovlig
• illegitim

• illegal in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• illegal in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• illegal in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)