illegal
Part of speech: adj
noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: espionage
government
hobbies
lifestyle
military
philately
politics
war
Etymology: Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin legalis, by surface analysis, il- + legal. In senses relating to immigration, via clipping of illegal alien or illegal immigrant.
Inflected forms:
form: more illegal
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: illegaler
pos: adj
tags: comparative
informal
nonstandard
form: most illegal
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: illegalest
pos: adj
tags: informal
nonstandard
superlative
form: illegals
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Contrary to, forbidden, or not authorized by law, especially criminal law.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
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.
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.
Major parties have long relied on large-scale campaign contributions, and the LDP was only recently mired in an illegal fundraising scandal. Sanseito drew its support from smaller, individual donations.
It's illegal to go over 70mph on any British road, so why should drivers have cars that can?
gloss: Forbidden by established rules.
pos: adj
examples: Moving a pawn backward is an illegal move in chess.
The computer program performed an illegal operation and was terminated.
gloss: Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
pos: adj
gloss: Being or doing something illegally.
pos: adj
tags: offensive
sometimes
examples: illegal immigrant
illegal logger
illegal pilot
gloss: Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally.
pos: adj
tags: US
offensive
sometimes
gloss: An illegal act or technique.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: 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.
gloss: Contraband, esp. illegal substances such as drugs.
pos: noun
tags: colloquial
in-plural
examples: …I've got illegals in my bottom…!
“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.
gloss: An illegal immigrant.
pos: noun
tags: colloquial
offensive
examples: 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”.
gloss: A spy operating abroad illegally and under non-official cover, without visible ties to his or her country’s authorities.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
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.
Synonyms: illegal immigrant
Derived words: illegal alien
illegal combatant
illegal forward kick
illegal immigrant
illegal immigration
illegalisation
illegalise
illegalism
illegalist
illegalize
illegalness
illegal number
illegal prime
Translations: