Meanings
comparative more illegally · superlative most illegally
- In a manner contrary to law.
He received a ticket for illegally parking next to a fire hydrant.
1 more example
The dangers of scofflawry vary wildly. The person who illegally spits on the sidewalk remains disgusting, but clearly poses less risk to others than the company that illegally buries hazardous chemical waste in an unauthorized location.
1983 January 24, Frank Trippett, “Essay: A Red Light for Scofflaws”, in TimeSynonyms: illicitly, criminally, forbiddenly, illegitimately, illicitly, unlawfully · Antonyms: legally, lawfully, legally, legitimately, licitly
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbIn a manner contrary to law.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From illegal + -ly or il- + legally.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan il·legalment
- il·legalmentin a manner contrary to the law
Chinese Mandarin 不法地
- 不法地 (bùfǎ de)in a manner contrary to the law
Dutch illegaal
- illegaalin a manner contrary to the law
Esperanto kontraŭleĝe
- kontraŭleĝein a manner contrary to the law
Finnish laittomasti
- laittomastiin a manner contrary to the law
French illégalement
- illégalementin a manner contrary to the law
German illegal, rechtswidrig
- illegalin a manner contrary to the law
- rechtswidrigin a manner contrary to the law
- gesetzwidrigin a manner contrary to the law
- widerrechtlichin a manner contrary to the law
- ungesetzlichin a manner contrary to the law
- unrechtmäßigin a manner contrary to the law
- gesetzeswidrigin a manner contrary to the law
Greek παράνομα, έκνομα
- παράνομα (paránoma)in a manner contrary to the law
- έκνομα (éknoma)in a manner contrary to the law
- εκνόμως (eknómos)in a manner contrary to the law
Japanese 違法に
- 違法に (ihō ni)in a manner contrary to the law
Polish nielegalnie, bezprawnie
- nielegalniein a manner contrary to the law
- bezprawniein a manner contrary to the law
Portuguese ilegalmente
- ilegalmentein a manner contrary to the law
Romanian ilegal, nelegal
- ilegalin a manner contrary to the law
- nelegalin a manner contrary to the law
Russian незако́нно, нелега́льно
- незако́нно (nezakónno)in a manner contrary to the law
- нелега́льно (nelegálʹno)in a manner contrary to the law
Spanish ilegalmente
- ilegalmentein a manner contrary to the law
Swedish olagligt
- olagligtin a manner contrary to the law
Cite this entry
illegally. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illegally
“illegally.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illegally. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “illegally,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illegally.
Source: illegally on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.