How to Use unlawful in a Sentence

unlawful

adjective
Definition of unlawfulnext
Synonyms for unlawfulnext
  • The sale of alcohol to minors is unlawful.
  • In 90 percent of the cases that went before the supreme court, the court ruled that the changes were unlawful.
    — Richard Schiffman, Scientific American, 9 Nov. 2022
  • Three counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm, a Class 6 Felony.
    — Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
  • But a cease-fire alone is not enough to end deeply unlawful conduct.
    — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
  • The claim that the FBI search was unlawful is also wrong, experts say.
    — Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2022
  • On Friday the state Supreme Court held 4-3 that such drop boxes are unlawful.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 8 July 2022
  • The number is down slightly so far this year at 117 unlawful killings.
    — Sarah Ravani, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec. 2022
  • On June 15, Jones pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
    — Mike Mavredakis, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2022
  • On the ground, the rule has not deterred unlawful migration.
    — Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New York Times, 28 Dec. 2022
  • But those rules were suspended over the weekend due to a court ruling them to be unlawful.
    — Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 27 June 2022
  • He was indicted on Feb. 7 on one count of unlawful possession and sale of wildlife — a Class 6 felony.
    — Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 9 Mar. 2023
  • Valdez and Boyd were also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.
    — Thania Garcia, Variety, 23 June 2022
  • Facing a lawsuit for unlawful arrests, the NYPD isn’t thrilled with her presence.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024
  • Cox was arrested on June 19 for the unlawful possession of a firearm.
    — Erica Y King, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2022
  • At the time of the arrest, Solano was on felony probation out of Navajo County for charges related to unlawful flight.
    — Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 8 Sep. 2023
  • The suit said that Guetschow’s use of force constituted an unlawful chokehold.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2023
  • Both women also are charged with unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 11 Sep. 2023
  • The Premier League have spent the last few weeks addressing the points that were found to be unlawful in the tribunal, leaving the other regulations in place.
    — Dan Sheldon, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
  • The committee presented evidence that the White House knew that the plan was unlawful.
    — New York Times, 23 June 2022
  • These acts would be considered unlawful in the workplace.
    — Elaine Mallon, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 16 Aug. 2024
  • Clouden was convicted in 2016 of unlawful possession of a weapon.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2023
  • But, of course, plagiarism on essays submitted to academia is a big problem and can be unlawful in some places.
    — Ocasio Media, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Dec. 2022
  • The men involved cut the locks off railroad cars and cut holes in fences around the warehouses to gain unlawful access and carry out the crimes, according to the indictment.
    — Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
  • On Wednesday, a federal appeals court declined to pause a Texas judge’s ruling that the plan is unlawful.
    — Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2022
  • Biden also said a new parole program brought down unlawful migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela by 97% in the past month.
    — John Fritze, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2023
  • The 17-year-old also faces an aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charge, police said.
    — Daniel I. Dorfman, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2022
  • In addition to the murder charge, Rose has also been charged with burglary and unlawful possession of a firearm, jail records show.
    — Tristan Balagtas, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2022
  • But the low number of unlawful border entries by Venezuelans only lasted for a few months.
    — Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Since 2020, Melton has been doing everything in his power to stop unlawful evictions in Dallas County.
    — Longreads, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Court filings allege that Louisiana's unlawful detainment costs the state more than $2.5 million each year.
    — Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unlawful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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