Meanings
- idiomaticForbidden by law.
They knew darn well that it's against the law, and they did it anyway.
2 more examples
It's against the law to knowingly allow an attractive nuisance to remain in place.
It's against the law / It was against the law / Oh, what the mama saw / It was against the law
1972, Paul Simon, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”, in Paul Simon - Being in principled opposition to a law's existence or wording, or to a school of thought about its application.
The mayor said that the law was passed last year, but also that he believes that most of the citizens are against the law and would support its repeal.
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 違法 /违法, 不軌 /不轨
- 違法 /违法 (wéifǎ)illegal, forbidden by law
- 不軌 /不轨 (bùguǐ)illegal, forbidden by law
Danish ulovligt, ulovlig
- ulovligtillegal, forbidden by law
- ulovligillegal, forbidden by law
Finnish lainvastainen
- lainvastainenillegal, forbidden by law
German gesetzwidrig
- gesetzwidrigillegal, forbidden by law
Russian незако́нный, противозако́нный
- незако́нный (nezakónnyj)illegal, forbidden by law
- противозако́нный (protivozakónnyj)illegal, forbidden by law
- нелега́льный (nelegálʹnyj)illegal, forbidden by law
Cite this entry
against the law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/against%20the%20law
“against the law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/against%20the%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “against the law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/against%20the%20law.
Source: against the law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.