Meanings
lawless1
comparative more lawless · superlative most lawless
- Not governed by any law.
- Prohibited by law; unlawful, illegal.
For ſure the Gods / Are not devoid of wiſdom, but perceive / What oaths are lawleſs and by force extorted.
1782, Euripides, “Iphegenia in Aulis”, in Michael Wodhull, transl., The Nineteen Tragedies and Fragments of Euripides. … In Four Volumes, volume II, London: […] Thomas Payne and Son, […], →OCLC, page 2102 more examples
This countrey ſwarmes with vile outragious men, That liue by rapine and by lawleſſe ſpoile, Fit ſouldiers for the wicked Tamburlaine.
c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii“We’re in a moment in this country where transgender people in this country are under attack in lawless ways,” said Chase Strangio, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who represented transgender teens at the high court.
2025 June 18, John Fritze and Devan Cole, “Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s historic decision on transgender care”, in CNN - Not restrained by the law or by discipline; disorderly, unruly.
On why leaving lawless places and leaving pseudovirtuous groups is loving such places and groups
Lawless2
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivewithout law or control
adjectivelax in enforcing laws
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
lawless · adjective
- Proto-Indo-European*legʰ-
- Proto-Germanic*lagą
- Old Norselag
- Old Norselǫg
- Old Englishlagu
- Middle Englishlawe
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Middle Englishlaweles
- Englishlawless
From Middle English laweles; equivalent to law + -less. Cognate with Danish lovløs (“lawless”), Swedish laglös (“lawless”), Norwegian lovløs (“lawless”), Icelandic löglaus (“lawless”).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Lawless · proper noun
- Middle Englishlaweles“lawless”
- EnglishLawless
From Middle English laweles (“lawless”), a nickname for an unrestrained and licentious man.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἄνομος, παράνομος
- ἄνομος (ánomos)not governed by the law
- παράνομος (paránomos)prohibited
Bulgarian беззаконен, незаконен
- беззаконен (bezzakonen)not governed by the law
- незаконен (nezakonen)prohibited
- необуздан (neobuzdan)not restrained by the law
Chinese Mandarin 不受法律管轄的 /不受法律管辖的, 無法統制的 /无法统制的
- 不受法律管轄的 /不受法律管辖的 (bù shòu fǎlǜ guǎnxiá de)not governed by the law
- 無法統制的 /无法统制的 (wúfǎ tǒngzhì de)not governed by the law
- 違法的 /违法的 (wéifǎ de)prohibited
- 非法的 (fēifǎ de)prohibited
- 不受法律約束的 /不受法律约束的 (bù shòu fǎlǜ yuēshù de)not restrained by the law
- 無紀律的 /无纪律的 (wú jìlǜ de)not restrained by the law
- 混亂的 /混乱的 (hùnluàn de)not restrained by the law
Danish lovløs, lovløs
- lovløsnot governed by the law
- lovløsnot restrained by the law
Dutch wetteloos, verboden
- wetteloosnot governed by the law
- verbodenprohibited
- illegaalprohibited
- onwettigprohibited
- wetteloosnot restrained by the law
Finnish laiton, laiton
- laitonnot governed by the law
- laitonprohibited
- lainvastainenprohibited
- laeista piittaamatonnot restrained by the law
- laitonnot restrained by the law
French sans foi ni loi, anarchique
- sans foi ni loinot restrained by the law
- anarchiquenot restrained by the law
German rechtsfrei, gesetzwidrig
- rechtsfreinot governed by the law
- gesetzwidrigprohibited
- gesetzlosnot restrained by the law
Latin illēx
- illēxnot governed by the law
Māori turekore, rāhui
- turekorenot governed by the law
- rāhuiprohibited
- turekorenot restrained by the law
Norwegian Bokmål lovløs, lovlaus
- lovløsnot governed by the law
- lovlausnot governed by the law
- lovløsnot restrained by the law
- lovlausnot restrained by the law
Polish bezprawny, bezprawny
- bezprawnynot governed by the law
- bezprawnyprohibited
- bezprawnynot restrained by the law
Portuguese sem lei, sem lei
- sem leinot governed by the law
- sem leinot restrained by the law
- desregradonot restrained by the law
Spanish ilegal
- ilegalnot governed by the law
Swedish laglös, laglös
- laglösnot governed by the law
- laglösnot restrained by the law
Welsh digyfraith, afreolus
- digyfraithnot governed by the law
- afreolusnot restrained by the law
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with lawless
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
lawless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lawless
“lawless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lawless. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lawless,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lawless.
Source: lawless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.