Meanings
phrase
- alternativeAlternative form of lawful but awful
Some believed that a civil rights investigation could establish that the ICE agent had a reasonable fear for his life when he opened fire as Ms. Good’s car began lurching toward him — the sort of police shooting investigators consider “awful but lawful.”
2026 February 7, Ernesto Londoño, “Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2026
Cite this entry
APA
awful but lawful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awful%20but%20lawful
MLA
“awful but lawful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awful%20but%20lawful. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “awful but lawful,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awful%20but%20lawful.
Source: awful but lawful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.